Internal Conflicts
by Her Honour
Summary: Ishiko's pregnant! But what's she hiding? And whats with Kakuzu? Dariru and Kisame take it to many levels, but something's missing. What happens when Suigetsu takes a liking to Dariru? CP&IDOTOAISMD x-over. KisamexOC KakuzuxOC
1. Chapter 1

From the creator of 'I Dream of the Ocean and I See Myself Die', and the writer of 'Child Play' comes this epic clash of two romance stories!! Blood Thirsty Me and Lady Malignant team up to create this mixture of humor, romance, blood, and.... pregnancy?! Ishiko's pregnant! What's Kakuzu feel about it? Dariru feels distant from Kisame, and that the only thing the two share is kinky sex! What happens when Suigetsu squeezes himself in that picture?! Jealousy that's what!!

Warnings: Pedophilia (Doubled now!) Angst, Violence, Blood, Cursing, Sex scenes, some drug use, and one-sided Necrophilia (How you ask? Well you'll see!!)

Requirements: Well you have to have read Blood Thirsty Me's story, 'I Dream of the Ocean and I See Myself Die' of course :P And you have to have read my 'Child Play' and 'Silence' to understand what the FUCK goes on in here. If you didn't, well your gonna be confused.

------

Ishiko supposed she woke up first. Though, she wasn't the one who got out of bed first. Her hair was spread all over the pillow and beside her Kakuzu was dead asleep. He was like a bear in hibernation. But after a while of watching him, Kakuzu mumbled something and his arm lifted to grab Ishiko by the waist, almost afraid she left him in the middle of the night. _I'm not going anywhere. _She thought. She would never go anywhere. Kakuzu sighed and Ishiko kissed him lightly on the cheek. She loved when he didn't wear his mask; his dark brown hair was just so magnificent.

"I'm going to get dressed." Kakuzu lifted an eyebrow but didn't open his green eyes.

"You might want to clean up too. Take a shower." He said referencing to the mess he left in her nether parts. She would have chuckled if not the necessity she really found in it. She nodded and sat up, stretching and yawning at the same time. She really wanted to sleep a bit more but she realized she may have a mission later. Pein always tended to give her missions after they all have crazy nights together. She took advantage of the showers, especially since Kakuzu was stingy with resources with everyone but her. Dariru called it favoritism.

"What about Dariru? Are you going to allow her to take a shower too?" Ishiko asked referencing to the Akatsuki own little helper. Kakuzu growled softly. He hated when she asked him things like that. She was just so cute he couldn't resist! She knew he couldn't say no to her to just about anything she asked of him.

"Fine… but hers better be quick." Kakuzu murmured. An S-rank criminal should have more will power than this. But his will against her cute little face, he was losing every time. Ishiko smiled. She was eighteen now. The wonderful age she moved out of her Mother's place and into the Akatsuki hideout. Though she wasn't considered a rogue nin just yet. Unlike Dariru she still needed her connections with her village. She still went back occasionally to check in on her Mother and often collected information from her Grandfather's office. Though lately she might not be able to do that since talks of electing a new Tsuchikage was at hand. When that happens she decided to go rogue. The brunette walked into the bathroom and started the shower, after grabbing a set of clothes and a towel out of Kakuzu's private set of fabrics and linen she looked over and saw Kakuzu was still asleep.

"You can join me you know." Ishiko offered to her lover. He's been really tired lately. She wondered if something was wrong, like if he was sick or something. But then again, if he were sick, he wouldn't have been pounding in her so roughly last night. That was a good trick her and Dariru used last night. They should do that again sometime. Ishiko shrugged her shoulders and licked her lips at the memory. As she turned on the hot water she got in and washed quickly. Scrubbing her hair with shampoo and conditioner she wondered if Kakuzu would have ever washed his hair if she was not here to remind him. _I'm still a bit sore. I wonder if… _Her thoughts lingered on pains she would have in her private regions and then her eyes opened wide as she remembered something important.

"KAKUZU!!!!!"

----

Dariru woke up startled, and Kisame woke up with her as well and then after looking around and then seeing Dariru's frightened face for a moment he was worried she had another nightmare. But since Dariru's face was filled with confusion, he made the assumption she didn't. It was then that the bathroom door opened to reveal a frightened, and naked, Ishiko. Kisame decided to take a sudden interest in Dariru's legs, knowing that Kakuzu would attack if his eyes lingered any long on the stitched man's woman. But Dariru kept looking at the kunoichi face with confused concern until Kakuzu jumped out of bed to aid his panic-stricken lover. The short-haired girl's eyes locked onto the ceiling, not wanting Kisame to feel jealous, even though the events of last night required everyone to see every part of each other.

"Are you hurt?" Kakuzu's rough voice asked.

"No," Ishiko sounded nervous and terrified; it even made Dariru start to really worry for her.

"Then what's the problem?" The tall stitched man didn't sound worried to the blue man and his woman; but deep down in the depths of his gut, he was. If she wasn't hurt, then what was wrong with her?

The answer was quite shocking to all who hear.

"I'm late Kakuzu."

Kakuzu felt all of his hearts stop at her response. Dariru's head snapped quickly to stare at Ishiko with eyes wide and alert. Kisame just raised an eyebrow in slight confusion, not quite sure what the girl meant by being "late"; though he had an assumption. There was a long silence as the girl with the news fidgeted under her lover's surprised and analyzing gaze.

The tan man took a deep breath before speaking in a leveled tone, "Are you sure?"

She just nodded.

An awkward air began to rise in the room along with silence and tension. Dariru broke it by clearing her throat and speaking up, "We should get going now…" the short-haired girl proceeded to put on her clothes whenever she would find them, and her blue companion followed her lead. She looked at Ishiko one more time and said, "We can talk later if you want." The couple walked out of Kakuzu's room, fully clothed, and left the two to discuss what Ishiko had revealed.

"What was that all about?" Kisame questioned as he and Dariru walked back to his room; one of his hands wrapped around her waist and kept her close as her hand clung to his shoulder blade.

"Ishiko's period is late," Dariru explained.

"Okay. So what's the big deal about that? You've never complained about it."

She looked up at him, wondering if he was serious or joking, "That's because I haven't skipped yet. And I also know better than to let you cum anywhere _near_ my vagina when I'm on my period or close to it."

The man grumbled and cursed inwardly at how she would occasionally make him pull out. He preferred to release himself inside of her; it was his way of claiming her as his. "I'm still not getting it."

Dariru stopped in front of him just as they reached his room. "Kisame," she had a look of disbelief and spoke as if the situation were obvious, "if Ishiko is late, then she could be _pregnant_."

As soon as the words left her mouth, it all became extremely obvious to the blue man. He felt like an idiot,

"Oh…right…I'd feel sorry for those kids," he added with an amused tone, "Having Kakuzu as a father would be terrifying if they ever got a look at his back."

Dariru grinned and giggled at his little joke, "You're mean."

"Only when I wanna be." The blue man replied softly and lowered his mouth to lightly nip at her already marked neck. Though he had to cover up the ones Kakuzu and Ishiko made last night.

---

Ishiko felt so ashamed of herself, Kakuzu's eyes lingered on where Dariru and Kisame where and then he looked at her again.

"How can you be sure?" He asked softly, and in a tone that was only meant for Ishiko's ears. Ishiko nervously glanced at him and then she looked back down, trying to come up with reasons why she would be late, and Kakuzu was suggested some of his own while trying to reason with her.

"Maybe it's just one of those things. But…" _I'm pretty sure it's not that I'm pregnant. I've been hanging around Dariru a lot though, maybe my menstrual cycle's syncing with hers. Yes. That must be it. _In her thoughts, she wasn't even aware of anything Kakuzu was saying.

"Who's would it be?" Kakuzu questioned softly as Ishiko finally looked up at him.

"Dariru…" She mumbled in thought and Kakuzu's eyes widened. _But they're both girls… That's not possible right? _Kakuzu didn't know much about human anatomy, which was more Sasori's thing. Kakuzu only knew about the circulatory system, which his jutsu was involved in. Ishiko sensed Kakuzu's looming figure and she looked up, this time with a bright smile on her face.

"It's nothing actually. I'm pretty sure I know what it is." But the disbelieving look in Kakuzu's eyes told her she would have to convince him with a lot more this time than with just her word. Kakuzu lowered himself and kissed her forehead softly and held her small shoulders in his enormous hands, glaring at the little marks Kisame and Dariru made on her body. While it was entertaining to see, it was much different to see them later, in such a moment. But he decided to waste no time, especially since the water was still running.

"Finish your shower, we're going to Konan." Kakuzu said sternly in a 'you-can't-smooth-talk-your-way-out-of-this' tone. Ishiko looked at him with a pleading look. Sure she liked Konan and all. The blue-haired woman was beautiful and quite kind to boot. But overall, Konan would be too much of a mother for Ishiko to go to her with a problem like this. And she didn't want Konan to get angry with Kakuzu resulting in the two getting into a fight. She didn't even want to think of the results. But she shut her mouth and nodded, giving her tan lover a chaste kiss and then he left, closing the door behind him. Ishiko stared at the door like she expected a creature to burst through, but nothing came. She took a deep breathe and went to finish her shower, turning it down a couple of degrees. There was no way she was pregnant. While worry seeped through her bones, happiness did as well. She could be _pregnant_. A small smile crept upon her lips and her eyes softened as she looked in the mirror and turned to the side, staring at her stomach.

_I could have Kakuzu's baby. _Her thing fingers touched her mouth softly and she giggled softly. It would be a new bond, something else besides sex to connect them. But of course, it would be difficult, as the Akatsuki spy, she would probably be gone a lot. Then she remembered whose job it was to watch Tobi. _If she could handle Tobi, she could certainly handle a __**normal **__child. _And with the thought, she went into the shower to wash the shampoo out of her hair.

---

Kakuzu, now dressed walked into the kitchen where Dariru and Kisame now there, them also dressed in the clothing they were wearing before they all started their fun activities. Kisame didn't spare a glance as he was devouring his meal and Dariru looked over to see who entered, her eyes flashing with concern as she saw the tallest member of the Akatsuki. She dropped the pan of eggs –possibly burning them- on the stove and she turned to Kakuzu.

"Is she okay?" She asked. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at her intrusion. He may have somewhat liked her, but that didn't give her the right into his business. _But Ishiko likes and trusts her. I guess she would want me to tell. _Kakuzu thought to himself.

"She's fine, it was just a scare." Kakuzu murmured, started to stroll towards the coffee maker, but Dariru seemed dead-set to get some more information out of him.

"She looked pretty scared, are you sure?" Kisame's head snapped up at the question and he looked at Dariru with urgency. She didn't notice, but Kisame was now anxious and cautious. Didn't she know? Of course Kakuzu would be sure if his own lover was okay or not? They've actually been together longer than himself and Dariru. But Kakuzu was more psycho about it than he was. Kakuzu was staring at the short girl with wide eyes. How dare she. His anger boiled at her face. He absolutely hated it. All tolerance was gone and he felt this newfound anger lift his arm up in a punch. Kisame launched towards the tan man and hooked his arms underneath Kakuzu's and held him back.

"Run Dariru!!" Kisame warned as Kakuzu let out something that sounded deeper than a growl. It was animalistic. Dariru backed up a step; she didn't realize one little comment could set him off. Kisame struggled the keep the older man back from hurting his own woman but it was proving fruitless. Despite his age, Kakuzu was surprisingly strong, much more stronger than Kisame was. Dariru turned and preformed one of her many talents. Running.

"Calm down Kakuzu-san!!" Kisame grunted; it felt like he was trying to wrangle a bull with his bare hands. Kakuzu growled again, and he finally shook Kisame off, knocking the blue man to the floor. Dariru turned her head to see how Kisame was holding up and gasped when she found Kakuzu mere feet away from her. Damn he was fast!! And he had a fist ready to knock the living daylights out of her. Dariru, frazzled, turned to fully face Kakuzu and she held her arms defensively in front of her.

"Little brat! I'll break all your bones!!" Dariru stopped, preparing her timing so she could duck and get some running time when Kakuzu hit, but right as Kakuzu was about to launch his fist, Kisame came from the side and knocked the huge man to the side and off-balance. Dariru had never been happier to see Kisame.

"Damn it, Dariru, you should know Kakuzu has a _very _short temper!" Kisame said and picked the girl up in her arms and used his Samehada to block yet another attack from Kakuzu. Dariru gasped as Kisame crouched, and as Kakuzu punched again, the Samehada which was dug into the ground, was set back; creating a small ditch. Kisame couldn't pull it out. Kakuzu leaned over the giant bandaged sword and his fist was preparing to launch. Literally. Dariru's eyes went wide and her hands clutched onto Kisame's cloak and a bead of sweat rolled down his face.

"Kakuzu!" Ishiko voice made Kakuzu freeze. Dariru and even Kisame noticed the sudden stiffness in Kakuzu, and the coldness that filled his eyes instead if the molten anger. Kisame held Dariru close to him; he recognized the amber in Ishiko's eyes. He saw the same stare that brat Keisuke always gave. Ishiko looked at Dariru and gave a soft smile before she gave that frozen stare at Kakuzu.

"Kakuzu, I'd rather for Dariru not to be killed." Dariru and Kisame felt saved. Lucky they had Ishiko as a friend. Kakuzu turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the two before he finally backed off and walked over to his young lover's side. Ishiko looked up at Kakuzu with a hint of a smile at her lips and she held her hands up, palm-up. Kakuzu side-glanced over at Kisame and Dariru but he couldn't disobey his little Ishiko. He leaned down and settled his face in her hands.

"You know how I feel about physical violence. You don't want me to be angry do you?" She sounded like Keisuke. He shouldn't be so surprised. She could be a little devil child when she wanted to be, and she was his little sister after all. But it was even cuter when she did it. Kakuzu mumbled a 'No.' Kisame wanted to laugh out loud. He always thought Kakuzu was the Seme between the two. But seeing this, he was having his doubts. Maybe it was Ishiko the one in control. Ishiko smiled softly and planted a small kiss on the fabric on his mask and let him go. Kakuzu straightened and loomed behind her like a ghost.

"I'm sorry Dariru-chan. He gets a bit angry sometimes; if you ever have any trouble again, call me." She nodded towards Kisame as well, who was holding on to Dariru as if he had to suddenly run off with her again in protecting her from Kakuzu's rage. Dariru on the other hand was simply amazed. It was like watching a ferocious lion being tamed by its calm and stoic master. But as long as she knew her, Ishiko has always been like that. She guessed it was because Ishiko was a spy, and showing emotions was something normally reserved for missions. Dariru nodded and Ishiko winked at her before walking away, Kakuzu following close behind.

"Finally…" Kisame breathed, putting his forehead on Dariru's shoulder and slumping to the ground. Dariru breathed, realizing she was taking low and shallow breathes.

"That was a close one, we were lucky Ishiko was here to tame him. Otherwise, I probably would have bitten his arm off or something. He's the oldest member of the Akatsuki, he knows the ropes around here." Kisame informed her, Dariru turned her head and buried her cheek in his collarbone.

"Yeah. Lucky…" She mumbled.

---

"I actually like Dariru, why would pull a stunt like that?" Ishiko said to Kakuzu, still walking.

"She doubted my care for you. It was an insult." Kakuzu responded, his deep voice was so resounding. Ishiko glanced back at him but she turned her head forward and shook her head. Kakuzu took the time to look over her once more. She had grown again. One more year and she would be at her most beautiful age. (Note: Biologically speaking, a woman is most beautiful at the age nineteen, or sometimes twenty.) He couldn't wait. Her hair was slowly getting longer. It was almost to the length she had it when they first met. But it was still missing a couple of inches. It was so unlike Dariru's. Dariru's was shorter and it seemed silky to the touch and so intangible. Ishiko's was thick and just a shade darker, it was always ridden with some tangle he always managed to find.

"It shouldn't matter to you what others think. I thought you would know better." She really was starting to sound like Keisuke. Maybe it was an age thing. Kakuzu smirked at her.

"Oh? And what is the mighty little Ishiko going to do about it?" He challenged. He of all people knew she never really started a fight unless it was part of a mission; her dominant streaks never lasted long. It was only a matter of time before she started to be a cute coward again.

"I will only be with Dariru next time. Or even Kisame." She threatened. Kakuzu let out an amused growl and latched his arms around her and lifted her up suddenly, making her smile and let out a small laugh.

"Keep talking like that and I might think your bisexual."

-----

She actually kinda is. After all Keisuke is. But really sexuality is real fluid to Ishiko, and so is gender. But I would consider Ishiko to be pansexual. But thanks so much to Blood Thirsty Me to contributing to this chapter even though I was supposed to write ALL of it and she basically wrote half of it! (Hint: The good parts were the ones she wrote XD) But I dunno about Dariru. After all Dariru is constantly being mistaken or a boy, and if she's at all like Haruhi from OHSHC she'll like seeing girls adore her. XD


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

"So, what's the problem?" Konan stared at Ishiko with her arms crossed in front of her chest and hip out to the side. The blue-haired woman looked like she had just woken up. Her hair had been tied back into a messy and tangled ponytail, the makeup that was left on her was either smudged or faded, and her dark blue pajamas were wrinkled and stained. But even with her current appearance, the girl knew that Konan wouldn't be too grumpy unless something bad had happened between her and Pein last night.

Ishiko was still nervous at the possibility that she might be pregnant. It made her wish that Konan hadn't locked Kakuzu out of the room; she could really use his comforting presence right about now. "Well, I think I might be pregnant," at the sight of mischief in the woman's tired eyes, the girl added quickly, "but I think I could be trying to get in sync with Dariru's cycle too since we've been hanging out a lot."

Cold, thought-filled eyes darted from the girl's face to her stomach and back to her face. There was a chance that the girl was pregnant, but it would be hard to tell until the obvious symptoms started kicking in. Konan tapped her foot in thought before bombarding Ishiko with a slew of questions.

"When's the last time you had the curse?"

The reference stumbled Ishiko for a minute before realizing what she meant. "Oh…last month I guess."

"When's the last time you and Kakuzu fucked?"

"Um…last night," she decided it was to leave out the fact that Kisame and Dariru had been involved too.

Konan chewed on her lower lip before continuing, "Have you puked or felt really nauseous in the mornings lately?"

"No."

"Any strange cravings? Like, _really strange_?"

"No." Again the woman's foot tapped at the ground as if processing the information. _It's still too early to tell…_the blue-haired woman grumbled inwardly. If Ishiko was pregnant then it could be a problem, _especially_ when Pein found out. This was a base for _criminals_; not _families_. _Guess I'll have to come up with something to convince Pein to let her keep the kid…__if__ there is one._

Her foot stopped tapping and she perked up, "Well I can't tell say for sure if you're uterus is infected with a little parasite. But I know something that _can_ tell us." Ishiko waited attentively as the woman paused dramatically. She held up her finger as physical representation before stating, "Pregnancy tests!"

The temporary tension was cute in two at the woman's bright idea. For a moment Ishiko had thought it was going to be something special or secret that would determine her current condition.

"_Tests_?" Ishiko repeated, "As in 'more than one'?"

"Yup," Konan grinned and pushed a stray hair behind her ear, "it'd be best to take a test from different companies. Just in case one is faulty. And it'll piss Kakuzu off if I get more than one."

This was what Ishiko had been afraid of; she really didn't want Kakuzu and Konan to fight because of this. "It's okay, I'm sure one will be just fine."

The blue-haired woman held up her hand for silence and explained, "Trust me. I'm doing this more for you than to fight with the old man. Besides, I'm sure the both of you'd go into cardiac-arrest if you got a positive result when it should've been negative." With a sigh and a stretch, Konan groaned out, "I'll get you three tests tomorrow. But for now, try to avoid doing anything dangerous. Wouldn't want to harm the baby now would you?"

The girl furrowed her brow in confusion, "But I thought you said you weren't sure if I was pregnant?"

With a smile small, the woman replied gently, "Better safe than sorry."

---

The moment Ishiko slipped out of Konan's room, Kakuzu went to her and asked, "What did she say?"

The girl looked up at him and explained, "She said she wasn't sure if I was pregnant or not," a short scoff came from the tan man before Ishiko continued, "but she's going to get a pregnancy test for me tomorrow." The last thing she wanted was Kakuzu to start having a fit because Konan planned on buying more than one test, so she left that little detail out.

A small sigh came from Kakuzu and the heat from his breath spread out across his mask. He was really hoping for a straight-forward verdict, not another day's worth of waiting. In fact, he was even nervous and, though he hated to admit it to himself, a bit frightened. What if she was pregnant with his child? What then? Would he be a good father? He knew for a fact that Ishiko would be more than a wonderful mother, but what about him? Would his child grow up with a burning hatred for him, especially since he would rarely have any time to spend with the kid? Would he even live long enough to see his child grow up? No, he had vowed long ago that he would stay alive for as long as Ishiko was; he would _definitely _stay alive for his kid.

It was Ishiko's concerned voice that pulled him back to reality, "Kakuzu? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he mumbled, "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing." He didn't want her to know that such a thing was troubling him. But the girl reached up and pulled down his mask. Her lips pressed against his gently, and even teasingly. She knew as well as he did that this was the perfect way to get him talking. But before he could try to get a better kiss out of her, she pulled away and looked up at him expectantly.

"What's wrong?" This time, he wasn't going to tell her "nothing".

"It's stupid," he grumbled mostly to himself. God damn it! He's an S-ranked criminal! He should have more will power than this over a silly woman! But as he stared down at the "silly woman" every nerve in his body softened and relaxed. That was the kind of effect she had on him. There was nothing in this world that he wouldn't do for her, even if he wouldn't openly admit it sometimes.

Her tiny hands cupped either side of his face and whispered, "Tell me."

"HEY, HEY, HEY! Kakuzu!" Hidan's loud and obnoxious voice interrupted the two lovers. There were many points in Kakuzu's life where he wished Hidan would drop dead…this was one of those moments. "Pein gave us a bounty to go collect! So stop makin' out and let's go!"

However, there were times when the immortal's obnoxiousness came in handy. This was the perfect excuse to avoid answering Ishiko's question and Kakuzu took the opportunity as if it were a briefcase full of money abandoned in the middle of the road.

The tan man gave the girl a quick kiss on the cheek before saying his good-byes, "Well, I'd better get going. Wouldn't want Hidan to run his jaw off."

Just as he began to walk to his partner, Ishiko spoke up defiantly, "How come I'm not going?"

Kakuzu didn't stop in his steps as Hidan answered, "Oh, you have the day off today. The assignments pretty easy, so Pein decided not to sign you onto it."

"We'll talk tonight," Kakuzu called back, not even bothering to look at her when he did. Ishiko couldn't help but glare at his back and cross her arms in frustration, which quickly faded away once both men had disappeared.

_I should talk to Dariru now, _she decided after standing still for a while, _she'll appreciate the break from Tobi._

---

Tobi was as hyper as ever today, but he was more clingy than usual after hearing about what had happened in the kitchen. Even when told to let go, the boy had refused to release his hold on her; to him she was like a child's favorite toy that had almost been crushed by a bully. Kisame had even started to get a bit irritated and would have forced the boy off had Itachi not call him over for a private discussion. Dariru had no idea why Ishiko was not fond of the Uchiha. At least, he had always been polite to herself and even some-what friendly. Though, Ishiko had told her many times that it was only because Kisame liked her did the Uchiha tolerate her. She was probably right.

Dariru saw Ishiko come walking towards them and so did Tobi. Still clinging onto the short-haired girl, the boy shouted happily at the top of his lungs, "Thank you very much for saving Dariru-kun, Ishiko-chaaaaan!" Before she could even utter out a "thank you", Tobi released Dariru and went charging to the newcomer for a hug. Dariru leapt at Tobi, not wanting him to harm the possible child, and was able to wrap one arm around his waist while her other hand accidentally pulled at a fistful of his hair. The squeal that came out of him was more from shock than pain, but either way, it made him sniffle.

Immediately, the shorter-haired girl loosed her grip on his hair. "I'm sorry Tobi," she said genuinely to the boy, "I didn't mean to get your hair."

He merely sniffled and replied pathetically, "Dariru-kun I thought you were supposed to be nice." Ishiko smiled at the fact Tobi's emotions were so easily hurt. Dariru felt cornered. She wanted to talk with Ishiko, but she had to take care of the rascal that was making her heart clench with guilt at the moment, first. Ishiko's amused eyes watched as Dariru had to make up some fantastic story about a princess who could only be saved by Tobi playing by himself and leaving Ishiko and Dariru to talk amongst themselves. It was pretty entertaining. Dariru seemed fit to have a nursery school or at least a creator of a kid's show. That would be more than funny to see. Tobi was ultimately gullible for anything that involved a princess. But Dariru had to be careful not to use it too often, God forbid Tobi get smart for once and detect Dariru's white lies. Once Tobi was gone, Dariru straightened and turned to the spy, dusting herself off.

"So? What's the verdict?" Dariru asked, luckily, there was a small wooden table in the room so Ishiko motioned toward it and they both sat down. Ishiko not saying one word, and it worried Dariru to say the least. The girl's face was filled with panic and worry this morning, but ever since she had shown only light-hearted emotions or even none at all. Like now.

"Not quite sure to be honest." Ishiko tried to hide all emotion from her voice, mostly not to let Dariru hear the panic that would have filled it otherwise. But Dariru seemed to want something more as an answer.

"Well, what information do you have so far? Please tell me." Dariru pleaded. Ishiko sighed. To any other person she could have lied her ass off. But to Dariru, for some reason, it was just suddenly harder to lie and keep details from leaving her lips. Talking to Dariru was like talking to an angel. You couldn't help but to spill your guts for her to see.

"Even Konan doesn't know, but to be honest, I'm surprised she hasn't neutered Kakuzu for knowing there's even a possibility I'm pregnant." She almost choked on the word 'pregnant'.

"But she'll get a couple tests tomorrow, and Kakuzu left on a mission. And something's really eating him… I can tell because he got really defiant. But now… I can't go on any missions!" Missions were the best part of her job as the Akatsuki spy. She loved using her talent to fool people, and seeing the wonders of the world. Dariru nodded in understanding.

"Well, he seemed pretty spooked when you broke the news to all of us. But to be honest, it's really best you stay put at the moment." Of course, Dariru was being the voice of reason and Ishiko's eyes sank down and she looked at the wood of the table. Maybe she was being selfish wanting to go on all these missions, but she couldn't help it. Was it her or did Dariru seemed real philosophical lately? She narrowed her eyes in accusation.

"Have you been hanging around Itachi-san?" She asked and Dariru's eyes went wide and she seemingly shrunk in her chair. Ishiko rather liked Dariru, which was one of the many reasons she didn't like the girl to hang around such a creature like Itachi.

"N-No!!" Dariru replied meekly. Ishiko leapt onto the table and pointed a finger at the frazzled Dariru.

"You have haven't you!!" Ishiko yelled and Dariru shook her head furiously while waving her arms.

"Don't be mad! Don't be mad!" Dariru pleaded and Ishiko had flames in her eyes.

She couldn't stand it; anger filled her voice and powered her next words, "I lost one child already because of him! I refuse to lose another!" That was when Dariru froze in her seat and felt her mouth gape open in shock at her words. No one had ever told her that Itachi had done that. _So that's why…_The realization finally struck her as Ishiko started to calm down and sat back in her seat.

"Oh god Ishiko," Dariru practically whispered, "I-I'm so sorry! I had no idea!"

She would have continued, but the girl across from her held up a hand. "I know…though this wasn't really how I wanted you to find out…" Ishiko suddenly looked tired, but Dariru assumed it was because of the possible baby and from the sudden depression that came along with the memory she had just shared. It made the shorter-haired girl guilty for unknowingly bringing up such a thought. Along with the guilt came a new kind of determination.

Dariru reached out and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. With a firm voice, she vowed, "I swear, I won't even _hint_ to Itachi-san that you have a baby. And when it starts to become obvious that you do, I will do my best to keep him away from you."

Though Ishiko was quite sure Kakuzu would do a better job of protecting her, hearing this from Dariru made her feel confident that Itachi was about to get more than he could handle, and it wasn't because Dariru had Kisame to back her up. During fights, Dariru would mostly be evading, dodging, or even running; not from the fight of course, but just to tire the opponent down. But once the girl started throwing punches, there was no stopping her, especially when she caught the sight of blood.

Knowing that she has this girl on her side was a relief for Ishiko. To show her thanks, she got out of her and walked next to the puzzled girl. She gave Dariru a hug and mumbled, "Thank you." Dariru smiled and hugged her back. When she first came here, Dariru believed her only friend would be Kisame; but she never expected to be friends with Ishiko. After all, the longer-haired girl was so much stronger than she was and she was the lover of one of the most dangerous Akatsuki members. But not only were they now friends, but Dariru viewed her as family. That's just what she did every time she made a friend; she considered them family. She just hoped that Ishiko wouldn't mind.

"Hey!" Tobi droned out in disappointment. The two girls looked at the masked boy who had his arms out in invitation for a hug. "Tobi wants a hug too!" Dariru smiled and shook her head at the boy's behavior. He really was a child trapped in an adult's body.

"Well then," Ishiko kept one arm draped around Dariru's neck as moved to the side to make room for the boy, "come here and get one!" Tobi gasped happily and quickly joined in the hug. Both girls were quite sure he would have squeezed all the air out of them if his arms had been long enough to wrap all the way around the two.


	3. Chapter 3

We're back! Man this story is really going well. Make sure to check in with Blood Thirsty Me to see what she's up to! And me of course! Reviews are always welcome! We'll both love reading them! Also, more warnings!

Warning: Dramatic Plotlines, Limes, Drug-use, Birth, of course Blood if I didn't mention that before. And our main thing; PEDOPHILIA!! Anyway here's chapter 3!

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Watching Dariru fold laundry was just like watching a TV show. It was something to watch, only if you were really bored. Like Ishiko was at the moment. It was at least eleven at night and Kakuzu and Hidan still weren't back from collecting the bounty. Dariru was doing her daily rounds in making the Southern Akatsuki hideout the neatest its ever been, but with Kakuzu gone, Ishiko had no one else to hang around. And she was getting anxious about Kakuzu not returning.

"What if they were stopped by some other bounty hunters…? Kakuzu has a bounty on his head too you know! God damn that man making me worry like this! You know what? Fuck him! I should only be concerned about Hidan's well being!" Ishiko started talking rapidly and crossed her arms. Dariru glanced up from folding one of Deidara's many shirts and she almost laughed. Ishiko sounded like such a kid sometimes.

"Well from what I heard, the bounty was located somewhere in Lightning Country, so they're real far from here in Rover Country." Dariru said in a delighted tone. Hopeful that would calm down her friend, but it really didn't. Ishiko glared and she sunk even deeper in her chair if that was even possible and started mumbling to herself. Dariru wasn't sure if this was a hormonal Ishiko or if her love for Kakuzu was really this bi-polar. It almost made Dariru laugh but she proceeded to fold clothes.

"Sorry for the massive loads Dariru-chan, I recently got paid for one of the side jobs I did back in Tea Country and I went a little crazy shopping." Ishiko explained and Dariru felt a little longing. That was the only negative side of being the Akatsuki helper. She never got out, Ishiko got to go out all the time and do side jobs to get some money since even though she was Kakuzu's lover, and she didn't even get any money for clothes from him. Sure she got some privileges, but no money. That was just how stingy the man was. But Dariru didn't get paid for watching Tobi and keeping him out of trouble, and she couldn't go out and get a side-job like Ishiko and Kakuzu had. Maybe she could ask Kisame later about it. Seeing the sudden longing in Dariru's eyes, Ishiko blinked and leaned forward.

"If you want, next time I go out I get you something too." Dariru brightened and she smiled at the other girl. Would Ishiko really do that for her!? No, no, she couldn't be a burden to Ishiko…

"It wouldn't be that hard, I get paid real good for some of the favors I do." Ishiko explained, and Dariru's interest rose. Exactly what _kind _of favors? Dariru's idea of _favors _were something only very desperate women did back in her country, did Kakuzu know abut what Ishiko did as a side-job!?

"What kind of favors?!" Ishiko lifted an eyebrow and she wondered why she got such a alarmed reaction from the shorter-haired girl and then the light bulb in her head lit up in understanding. _Does she think I-!? _

"No! No! Not those kinds of favors!! Spy favors!" Ishiko said frantically, waving her hands in front of her. Dariru gave a relieved sigh and she mumbled a 'Thank God.' Ishiko chuckled and she decided to explain more.

"Using my spy abilities I help out people who need it. Like women whose husbands took off with their children, proving corrupted business owners' guilty, robbers of small businesses. Stuff like that, it pays real well sometimes about 3K a job." Ishiko explained as if she was saying she picks flowers. Dariru had no idea about what Ishiko really did. All she really knew was that Ishiko was a spy from Iwa. Dariru nodded and started folding more shirts. Ishiko didn't like the silence so she decided to talk about another subject.

"So, what have you and Kisame-sama been up to? I haven't been hearing any screams lately." Ishiko said slyly and almost made Dariru drop the pile of clothes she was lifting. Her cheeks flared with color and the Akatsuki Spy almost laughed at the flustered girl.

"We uh…well, now we wait for everyone to be asleep before we 'do it'." Ishiko had to bite the insides of her cheeks to keep herself from laughing. It was quite ironic how the girl would be perfectly fine in participating in a four-way orgy, but God forbid she actually say the word "sex" or "fucking". "Or until most of the members are out of the base."

A sly smile crept across Ishiko's face, "Oh? And why's that?"

Dariru lifted an armful of damp clothes out of the washer and shoved them into the dryer before closing both metallic doors quietly. Her fingers immediately started to fiddle with her short locks of hair as she mumbled, "Well…we're…seeing what it's like to uh…fuck in….different places. Other than his room."

A loud gasp came from the longer-haired girl and her jaw dropped at the discovery as her companion's face became a brighter shade of red, if that was even possible. "Are you serious?! Where?!" she got out of her chair and walked up to the flustered girl, not wanting to miss a word she might say.

"Well, so far we've done it in the kitchen," A look of realization came across Ishiko's face, but Dariru saw it and added quickly, "But we made sure to do it on the spots Hidan and Deidara hang around!"

The spy raised a curious eyebrow, "I though Deidara was like a brother to you?"

"He is…but I still needed to get back at him for sneaking his exploding clay into my shorts." Dariru stretched and did her best to suppress a yawn. Ishiko would have been tired too if it weren't for her concern for Kakuzu. It shouldn't have taken him this long to complete a simple bounty…but maybe Dariru was right. It did take a while to get to Lightning Country from here.

She must have looked as worried as she felt, for Dariru placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and mumbled, "Hey. He'll be okay. It's Kakuzu we're talking about after all. He can take care of himself." The spy gave her a meek smile. "You should get some sleep," the Akatsuki Helper suggested politely, "you're going to find out if you're pregnant tomorrow!"

The meek smile turned into a happier one at the thought. "Yeah. Thanks for keeping me company Dariru." They hugged before Dariru began to walk down the hall to distribute the basket full of folded clothes to their owners. Ishiko looked at her own belly and ran her fingers lightly across it. _I could be pregnant…_she said inwardly, _If I am…I won't let Itachi anywhere near me…or my child. _

Itachi watched as Dariru left Ishiko alone. He had been assigned to watch the Akatsuki spy for a while now, and was hoping to see any signs of what he was looking for. The one thing he wasn't expecting to find out was that she could be pregnant again. _Foolish girl didn't learn from the first time,_ he sneered to himself. Ishiko could suddenly sense something uneasy, her nerves suddenly started to tingle and she flinched in pain. _Damn it… _She thought once she was rid of the entity, then this pain would stop returning. And with Sasori dead, she had no way of getting better. Just keeping herself pain-free by stuffing herself with medications. Her mind wandered off the odd aura and she concentrated on finding her medications. A place where nobody knew. As a spy, she knew very good hiding spots, she went over to the nearby air vent, filling her finger with chakra and carefully unscrewed the screws.

_I'll have to tell Kakuzu sometime. _She suddenly remembered why she never really thought of children. Because she knew she would definitely not live long enough to see them grow up. Ishiko grunted again as the pain throbbed in her leg and wrists. She was just glad Dariru walked away when she did. She didn't want the girl to see Ishiko in this state. She could tell Dariru looked up to her. Nobody should see the person they admired suffer from a disease that disabled them in such a way. But Huntington's was bound to take its toll on her body, it worried her. How would she still keep taking her medications while she was pregnant? Would it have some horrible affect on the baby? She placed a hand on her stomach and closed her eyes. _They'll probably think I'm some drug-addict. _Ishiko thought. And as she reached for her stash of sterile needles and small bottles of medication she heard the one voice she never wanted to hear.

"Hurts don't it?" His voice was just as cold as ever. Feeling ashamed she was caught, she turned to glare at him, and smirked as she saw him divert his eyes. He was still scared of looking at her in the eyes? But did Itachi know of her disease? Not even Konan knew. The only person who ever knew was Sasori, and he took that information with him to the grave that was brought on to him way before his time by the old Suna woman and ugly pinkette who had such a ridiculous crush on Ishiko's older brother. Ishiko gave a scoff.

"What's it to you? Leave me be before I kick the shit out of you again." It was Itachi's turn to scoff.

"Like you could in your state. Don't get cocky; Sachiko was the one whom caused so much damage to me. Your getting rusty Ishiko. Dariru could be back at any time. And your out here plunging needles in your arm while your possibly pregnant." Itachi spoke. Ishiko narrowed her eyes. What room did he have to chastise her? He was the one fucking his little brother and taking drugs himself. Ishiko lowered her eyes and she nearly growled at the man. She was cautious as she could be when she was in pain, her eyes never left his figure as she started to wrap a small rubber tube around her upper arm and unwrapped the needle out of its packaging. Now that Sasori was gone making her extra effective medications, she resorted to getting them from some man off the black market.

"She'll be a while. I made sure of it. I'm a shinobi too; I think I'd sense her before she could come back regardless of my state." Ishiko practically hissed. Itachi didn't even lift an eyebrow at her sudden hostility, but waited as she injected herself with the clear liquid. Ishiko winced and gritted her teeth. She hated this. She hated having to rely on such a thing to survive. She made a fist as the last bits of the medication made its way into her bloodstream.

"And it's only a possibility." Ishiko assured herself more than she was trying to convince Itachi. She slid the thin needle out of her arm and put it back in it's little cubicle and she quickly counted. _I only have 5 more needles. Damn it. At this rate, I'll need to go back and buy more by next month. _She thought and he eyes quickly returned to Itachi's form.

"So let me guess. You've been watching me, as always?" Ishiko asked, putting the materials away and unrolling a roll of bandages to cover the scars. If anyone asked she could just say it was a new look. After all that's what most shinobi did anyway. Itachi barely lifted an eyebrow.

"Your on your game aren't you?" Itachi asked, and even though his tone didn't say so, Ishiko could tell the bastard was being sarcastic. Of course she was. She was a god damn spy; she was supposed to always have a heightened sense.

"Just leave Dariru-chan out of it. I don't want her caught in the crossfire." She said, remembering Dariru promised her earlier she would never let Itachi near herself or the baby, if there was one. She didn't want Dariru hurt. Not after Dariru basically confessed how much she cared. She couldn't let determination like that go down the drain, or let it be in vain. Itachi shrugged and looked to the side with a ghost of a smirk on his face.

"Seems you really care about the Akatsuki Helper." Ishiko didn't get where he was going with this.

"Of course. I don't know why, but Dariru seems to have this… aura. She attracts people to her like a magnet." Ishiko tried to explain it. But Ishiko has always been more a solo-type person. But for some reason whenever she could she found herself hanging around Dariru. Ishiko glared at Itachi, warning him.

"She gets caught in the crossfire of this, don't think I won't come for blood." Ishiko threatened and Itachi lifted his hands, his palms facing her.

"What a change. Ishiko Tsuwa involved in physical violence?" Itachi asked, his monotone voice was starting to piss Ishiko off. And she would have used one of her signature jutsu's right then and there if not for Ishiko sensing Dariru's chakra. She quickly turned and laced the medical case back in the vent and screwed it up again. She turned and found nothing there as Dariru walked in the room, her curious brown eyes locking with Ishiko's.

"Ishiko? It's real late. I'm sure when Kakuzu comes back he'll come straight to you. It's not like he has any business with the rest of us." Dariru said opening the dryer and began folding again. Ishiko walked over to the small table where Dariru was currently folding a long-sleeved T-shirt and Ishiko gave one of her signature smiles.

"Right, right. Thanks for your help Dariru. And don't mind this morning, Kakuzu gets that way sometimes." Ishiko brushed her hair out of the way of her eyes, showing the scar that was on her forehead. Dariru nodded and her eyes followed Ishiko until she was out of sight. And then she sighed with a smile on her face.

"Things are real fun around here." Dariru mumbled to herself.

"Hell yeah it does." Dariru heard a familiar husky voice behind her. A smile graced her lips as she recognized who it was, and two strong hands gripped her hips. Kisame smirked and he lightly nipped the sensitive flesh on her ear.

"You know, it's real sexy watching you bend over to grab the laundry. Almost makes me want to take you right here and now…" Kisame whispered in her ear, moving his hands slowly to the front of her body. Dariru wad flushing a bright red as Kisame proceeded in his teasing. But she had no idea she was putting on such a show for him. After all they were tying out what it was like fucking in unconventional places, and since Kisame was already –or at least she thought so- horny, he might take her right there. She could just imagine Ishiko laughing her ass off if she found out. But Dariru found it hard to resist the warmth of Kisame's hand as it made its way up her shirt.

"Kisame..," Dariru breathed. She smiled to herself, how long has she spent her life just wishing she could have met one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? And here she was. She held the heart to one of them, and he loved her over all and everything. Or at least he led her to believe with his actions and words. But she couldn't help but feel incredibly lucky. Her. Of all girls in the world. She felt like she was given the ultimate form of fan service. Kisame moaned against her skin, just barely grazing over it with his razor-teeth. He didn't even have to look up to know she was flushing a deep red and enjoying every minute of his actions.

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Sorry if some 'f's are missing, I type real fast and sometimes my 'f' button takes more effort to press. Like I have to really pay attention which I'm not when I'm typing like Speedy Gonzalez!


	4. Chapter 4

From the wirters of 'I Dream of the Ocean and I See Myself Die' and 'Child Play', comes the combination of the two; Internal Conflicts!! Remember to review and also to read both stories to get this one!!

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Rain fell from the night sky and barraged at the earth below. Branches and leaves sagged at the sudden weight of the life-water, animals sought out shelter from the sudden cold and even the birds ceased their songs. The once dry roads of the Lightning Country became muddy and littered with puddles in varying depths. Only two figures walked on the muddy ground, pressing onwards to their destination.

They had just finished their mission and were making their way back to the borders of River Country. The mission itself had been simple, and they had been paid quite handsomely, but it was the distance between the mission and the Akatsuki Base that made the mission a long one. Not to mention Hidan's hour-long ritual he had to do after the fight. It had irritated the tan man more than usual. He wanted to get back to the base and he wanted to get their _fast_. There was no way he wanted to leave his Ishiko alone for any longer; _especially _if she was pregnant.

Hidan, however, was not so eager to get back to the base. "Kakuzu!" the immortal whined, "You bastard, slow down! I can't keep up with you after that ritual!" The man may be immortal, but his body was not immune to fatigue and it still took a while for him to regain the blood he had so easily drained out of himself.

"If you'd stop doing those rituals so often, then you wouldn't be so slow." Kakuzu remarked, never slowing in his steps.

Hidan scoffed, "Smart-ass cock-sucker! If I don't do those rituals, then Jashin-sama will get mad! And if He gets mad, then I'm screwed!" The stitched man rolled his eyes. He always believed Hidan's religion was a load of bull, even if his immortality was proof of it. He just refused to believe that a "God" of any sort existed. Perhaps it was his overly-dominant side that made him refuse to worship anything. And the fact because he knew due to judgment this 'God' made, he would never join Ishiko on the same side in the afterlife.

A sudden wind blew at them, making the rain smack against the men's faces with a freezing sting, making them both shiver. It made the stitched man thankful for the slight protection his mask offered. His partner, on the other hand, had no heavy protection and decided to complain again.

"Damn it Kakuzu! Can't we stop for tonight? It's getting really fucking cold, seriously!"

"No."

"Why the hell not!?"

"Because," he growled, "I want to get back to the base _before _next week."

_One more word…_Kakuzu snarled to himself, _if he says one more word, I'll rip his tongue out._ Right now he didn't want to deal with this. Leave it to Hidan to totally complicate things and make them difficult. But he was always like that. For a moment Kakuzu thought he was doing this on purpose, because he knew the albino male never liked his and Ishiko's relationship. He always thought it was disgusting, but maybe that was because Hidan knew Kakuzu's actual age. But he wanted to get to Ishiko. Since he left things the way they were; and knowing Ishiko, she'd be worried and angry. And damn, the girl had an uncanny ability to make him suffer. But she was a spy after all. But God-forbid Hidan actually shut up for once, so Hidan being the smart-ass that he was so good at being, spoke up once more.

"Didn't know you were so fucking eager to screw _my _subordinate, bastard." Hidan scoffed. Kakuzu quickly whipped around and glared the most deadly glare he has possibly ever given. Hidan, who was rushing and his vision blocked, didn't see the obstacle and ran head-on into the man, bouncing off his sturdy figure and falling into a large cold, and muddy puddle. Screaming a curse as his cloak dampened with water and cold mud. Kakuzu was angry again, as Hidan looked up and as the timing was just right, a bright flash of lightning sparked behind the tall man, only adding to his maliciousness and the boom of thunder matched Kakuzu's tone and decibel.

"Don't _ever _talk about Ishiko in such vulgar sentences." Kakuzu didn't have time to beat him to a pulp; he needed to get to Ishiko. He could safely bet that Dariru was taking good care of his significant other, but he wanted to be there. If anything happened he never really relied on her to handle things, or take care of business like he could. She was the Akatsuki Helper that Kisame brought in like a lost dog. Nothing more. Sure she could throw a few could punches that could probably knock his jaw out of place, but in the long run, she didn't have nearly enough power to protect Ishiko like needed. Or at least, protect her like he _wanted_ her to be protected.

Hidan gulped and didn't say anything else as Kakuzu turned around and started of at a faster pace than he originally started. But Hidan followed. He was an S-ranked criminal; he could take the freezing temperatures! He could take smoldering deserts! He could take anything, but that didn't mean he didn't want to. But knowing that Kakuzu would seriously tear him to pieces and leave him there (He actually did that once, but Ishiko forced him to go back and piece him back together.) Kakuzu was determined and actually seemed anxious about something. Something had to be up to make the coldest and meanest Akatsuki member this anxious. He didn't even count the money he got from the bounty collection office. He simply took the briefcase and left. Certainly out of character. Not that he complained though, it was the fastest bounty trip he ever experienced.

---

With Kakuzu gone, Ishiko realized how big the bed was. She felt like a tiny fish in a huge ocean. She had half a mind to invite Dariru, but thinking it over, it probably wasn't the best time. With Hoshigaki being as possessive of his young lover as ever, it wouldn't be such a good idea of having Dariru sharing _Kakuzu's _bed with her. Especially the night after they had a four-way orgy. _To be honest, I never really expected such a reaction from Kakuzu and Kisame. It was just a small kiss really. Practically a small 'hello' in some countries. _Ishiko thought while raising her eyebrows and smirking. She felt so cold, and every time she adjusted herself, she just got colder and had to curl up to keep her body heat at a comfortable level. Was Kakuzu really that warm? She sighed to herself.

"I wonder if Dariru-chan feels this way whenever Kisame has a mission." Ishiko mused, knowing Dariru, as a mere helper couldn't assist her lover in missions like she could. She felt sympathy for the girl and feeling envious of not being able to travel. Though, she was quite sure she would get bored, or even insane, of staying in Akatsuki Base for too long. _It's a no wonder she's so pale, _Ishiko mused; _she hasn't gone outside since she got here. _How long had she and Dariru been in this base? She knew Dariru had been here for at least a year, but she herself had been here for three years. Three years…she had barely noticed the time passing by with all that's been going on.

She shifted again in the bed, trying her best to stay warm, but found no avail. With a grumbled and suppressed yawn, the spy finally decided to at least try to fall asleep. The pillow next to her smelled so much like Kakuzu and it made her heart go out to him. _I hope he's okay. _She pulled the blanket up to her nose, curled up into a ball, and closed her eyes. Tomorrow might be turn out to be very interesting, and like Dariru had said, she would need her rest. At first, sleep did not come to Ishiko easily, but she found that when she focused on the scent on Kakuzu's pillow it made her feel like he was laying there next to her; and sleep was able to take her in its comforting arms.

---

Dariru laid in bed, her cheek on Kisame's bare chest with one of his hands held her shoulder. She was tracing a faded scar on his shoulder with a finger lightly, and he returned the favor by rubbing her shoulder smoothly with his thumb. Even after what had happened in the laundry room _and _in his bed, the girl still felt restless. It wasn't because she still wanted more of her blue lover, she knew she could never grow tired of him, but she was still worried about Ishiko. The spy had seemed a little…different…when she had returned to the laundry room to collect more clothes. Was she really that worried of Kakuzu? _Then again, I'd be worried for Kisame too if I were pregnant and he had to leave for a mission, _the girl thought as she listened to Kisame's heartbeat. It was beating fairly fast, which meant he was still awake.

"Kisame?" she spoke softly, trying not to disturb the silence too much.

"Hm?" he sounded tired, and it made the girl feel bad for a moment. He might have been about to fall asleep before she started talking. Bit she had to get this constant worrying off of her chest.

"I'm worried about Ishiko." She felt his thumb stop rubbing her shoulder.

"Well, you talked to her about it right?"

"Well, yeah but…but what if she really is pregnant?" Dariru sat up and put her weight on her elbows so she could look at her companion in the eyes. "I mean…will Pein-sama still send her on missions? And what if something happens to Kakuzu? Good lord, what if he dies during a mission!? Then she'd have to raise the kid without him and the kid would grow up without a father and—" She would have gone on, but Kisame put a finger over her lips to silence her.

"If Ishiko is pregnant," he spoke, taking his finger away from her, "then I'm sure Pein-sama will make her do small missions. Like delivering messages or something easy like that. And I highly doubt Kakuzu would die on a mission. He was a hard man to kill _before_ Ishiko came into the picture. Now that he has a reason for living, the man's damn-near immortal." His reassurance was just what Dariru needed. Sure she was still a little worried, but not as much as she was before.

Then, he added something with a mixture of humor and seriousness, "Besides, there's nothing wrong with growing up without a dad. I turned out just fine."

She gave him an amused smile and went along with the good attitude, now positioning herself to hover over him. "Right. Without good ol' Dad around, you grew up to be an S-ranked criminal and kill people for a living. Such a wonderful role-model."

He gave her a wicked smirk, showing off some if his pointed teeth as his hands found their way to her hips. "Look whose talkin'! You have a dad and not even he was able to stop you from doing illegal research."

The girl dipped her head down to give him a quick peck on the lips, "Or from falling for the Wave's most notorious criminal." Kisame pulled her down onto him, wrapping his arms around her back and taking in the scent in her hair.

"I love you Dariru," he murmured. It made her heart skip a beat every time he said those words. "Now, get some sleep. You might have to keep Tobi more under control than usual if Ishiko-chan is pregnant." The girl nodded and the man gave her a kiss on the cheek.

But before either could try to fall asleep, Dariru blurted out, "What if I got pregnant?"

Immediately, Kisame sat up, practically pushing the girl off of him. "_Are_ you pregnant?" He looked nervous, scared even. She had never seen him so on-edge like this before.

"N-no." He relaxed as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Was he afraid of kids? She kept pressing the subject further, "But what if I was?"

"Well then they'd grow up to hate me," Kisame stated honestly before trying to lie back down. Dariru stopped him by continuing.

"What makes you say that? I think you'd be a good father!" It was true; she thought he'd be good with kids if they were his own. Though she wasn't sure how exactly good he was with kids, even if they weren't.

Kisame looked at her as if she had lost her mind. He pointed at his face and responded, "Genetics, dear. They're more than likely going to get _my_ color-defect and a few other features. Eventually, they would hate me for it." Dariru felt saddened by his attitude. Did he really think that his appearance was that bad? She wanted to tell him just how much she loved his skin color. How much she loved his sharp teeth. But she knew deep in her gut it would be in vain. Kisame for some reason just had it pressed in his mind he was a horrible-looking person. She wasn't a therapist, or a psychiatrist, so she didn't know how to really help him get past that belief.

He laid down on the bed with his back to her. She lay down behind him and slinked a hand around his waist as she placed a small kiss on his back. "I'm sorry…" she whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. It was ironic how men always said that, but it only made the woman even more worried about it. It was like when somebody told her not to look and she help but look anyways. Guilt wrenched at her stomach for bringing up the subject, and she nuzzled her face into the back of his neck; hoping that tomorrow would be better.

---

It was very early in the morning by the time Kakuzu and Hidan returned to the base. Hidan looked exhausted and didn't even wait to get to his room before passing out. The moment the immortal man found a chair, he slumped in it, dropping his blood-stained scythe and fell asleep. Normally, the tan man would have forced his partner to wake up and get into his room before passing out like that; however, Kakuzu was too set on seeing Ishiko.

He opened the door to his room silently and peered inside. The light from the hallway provided enough illumination for him to see his Ishiko, curled up into a tiny ball beneath the blanket on his bed. Her face was distorted with what looked like discomfort. Was she having a bad dream? Or was she in pain? Either way, the man quietly entered the room, not making a noise when he closed the door. He took off his muddy sandals and his cloak and mask before slipping carefully into bed. The moment he touched Ishiko's skin he felt colder than before. The girl was freezing! He pulled the girl into his chest, trying to warm her up with his body heat. This time he didn't give a damn if she woke up.

Her face relaxed as a tired groan rumbled in her throat. Sleepy eyes opened half-way to look at him, "Kakuzu…?"

One of his hands went over her eyes, coaxing her to close them. "It's me. Go back to sleep Ishiko." She obeyed and clung onto him for warmth. The man placed a small kiss on her head, thankful that he arrived while she was still drowsy. _She's less likely to continue the conversation we were having before I left…_he grumbled to himself. The man was just glad he had gotten back to her before Konan had bought the pregnancy tests.

_Tomorrow's gonna be long day…_ _Or should I say, today. _

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You wouldn't think that such a short chaoter would take so long to write. But it did. Also, just yesterday my bus got rear-ended and of ALL DAYS I WEAR A BUTTERFLY CLIP (The worst hair peice to wear when specifically rear-ended ) I GET REAR-ENDED . It freakin' sucks and I'm scared to wear a butterfly clip now O.o lol


	5. Chapter 5

This one was a bit more fun to write. Hope you guys like it, remember to review and read both stories to basically get whats going on in this one. But yeah more drama as usual. 'Child Play' is going harder than usual. I just don't know what I'll do when I finish it. But also I got totally swamped with homework yesterday.

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Chapter 5

Ishiko opened her eyes to find Kakuzu staring at her. She never really realized it, but Kakuzu was always asleep after she did, and always awake before she was. It was like he never slept. Her drowsy brown eyes closed again and she moved her now warm arm and set her hand on his stitched cheek. She didn't really want to bring it up now, but with the pleading look in Kakuzu's eyes she knew she had to.

"Ishiko, look, what I was thinking about…" He was going to say it was complicated, and he didn't want to worry her. He had to tell her some excuse or she wouldn't drop it for anything. But she interrupted him.

"It's fine." Ishiko interjected and Kakuzu looked at her, wondering why she was giving up this easily. But Ishiko realized; she really didn't want to know. If it was so bad that Kakuzu was willing to go off for a mission with Hidan if all people, then she didn't want to know. It was none of her business, she it wasn't like she was going to force him to tell her something that he didn't want her to know about.

"If you don't want to talk about then that's fine. I won't ask anymore." Kakuzu was always amazed about how mature she always acted. When Kakuzu was the childish one and she took charge and acted the adult role. She was so young, yet in mind she might as well have been as old as he. But Keisuke was the same way.

"You're an adult. You obviously know more than..." She yawned, "Me anyways right?" She asked him and Kakuzu nodded. He wanted to kiss her so badly right now, but he didn't want to touch her in anyway right now. Fearing he might taint her in some way. Ishiko placed her face even closer to Kakuzu, taking in his wonderful vanilla scent. How an S-ranked criminal had the scent of something so delicious was beyond her, but excited her all the same.

"Right." Kakuzu agreed solemnly like he always did. Today was the day. Judgment day. As Ishiko settled and fell into a doze once again, her hands holding a death grip on the pillow and his arm, Kakuzu's eyes wandered to the window. It was just the beginning of dawn, the sky a very dark blue. He sighed and numbly slept as well.

---

Konan didn't know why she was seemingly the caretaker of the Akatsuki. But she did her research, and found the best ones, bought a couple of them. Then bought a couple of the second-rate ones. After that, a couple of bottles of water made its way into her basket of 'goodies'. The pregnancy tests seemed a little expensive, but as long as Ishiko was there Konan didn't expect much of a fuss. The blue-haired kunoichi made her way back into a base and wondered why she didn't just have some of her subordinate get the tests while she could have been sleeping in a nice, warm bed with a half-naked Pein. But she figured it was because she was nervous about the whole thing as well. When she first set eyes on Ishiko she recognized something. Those lost eyes struck a nerve. She came from a place of war as well. The girl lost her Father to the war and was chosen to be a host to a power equivalent to a nuclear war head. Konan couldn't help but hover.

Konan couldn't count how many times how she wished things were different for her. If, was a word in her vocabulary. **If **she had known that bomb was there in the church. **If** she knew medical jutsu to save her own Mother. **If **she had just been a little stronger to fend off those ninja who kidnapped her. She would definitely make a difference in Ishiko's and Dariru's lives. This was the least she could do for little Ishiko.

---

Morning finally came to the Southern Akatsuki hideout. Well, technically it came first to Tobi, who woke everyone else up by screaming 'Good morning' so loud it could wake up the dead. Deidara ran out first, his hair a mess and his pajamas ruffled choking Tobi out of frustration of being woken up in the middle of a 'good dream' which consisted of the good old days back making terrorist bombs in Iwa. Then Zetsu, appeared, not really doing anything but standing in the corner of the kitchen. Then Kisame and Dariru. Kisame drinking a cup of coffee while Dariru anxiously started making breakfast, glancing occasionally at the hallway and then back to the scrambled eggs she was making. Kisame didn't even have to look at the girl to know what she was so eager about.

"They'll wake up eventually. I didn't hear Kakuzu come in 'till this morning." Kisame spoke nonchalantly. Dariru gave him a little glare of which he responded by giving her a quick grin.

"Yes, but also Konan. She's the one with the tests. I wanna be there when Ishiko finds out whether she's pregnant or not!" Dariru defended, careful as to not burn the eggs as she talked. Kisame lifted an eyebrow.

"You want to be there when she pees on a stick to find out if she's knocked up or not?" Kisame asked sarcastically and had a small spoonful of eggs land in his face and he didn't say anything more. He had forgotten how good of aim Dariru was. Tobi scrambled into the kitchen, crawling under the table to avoid the wrath of the blonde man that was still chasing him. Kisame wiped the eggs off his face and pushed his chair away from the table as the masked boy kept crawling to the other side. Deidara walked clumsily around the table just as his target emerged from beneath it, only to grab Dariru by her shoulders and force her to get in the way of the blonde. The girl still had the frying pan in her hand and it swung just inches in front of Deidara's face, almost singing the tip of the man's nose.

"Tobi you coward!" Deidara screeched, his eye never leaving the frying pan in Dariru's hand, "Stop hiding behind the defenseless girl and take your punishment like a man!" The masked boy ignored the fact that Deidara had reference Dariru as a female and kept himself hidden behind her.

But Kisame saw the sudden flare of anger in Dariru's eyes at the comment. Her nerves were already on-end because of Ishiko's situation, and comments like that were bound to start something inside of her. The blue man chuckled as he took another sip of coffee, not wanting to miss the show that was about to start.

"_Defenseless_?" Dariru repeated heatedly. Her sudden hostility took the blonde and masked boy by surprise; it was very unlike her to stand up against Akatsuki members. The girl took a step forward, waving the hot end of the frying pan in front of Deidara to emphasize her point, "Who's the one holding a burning frying pan with scolding-hot eggs in it? Huh!?" She jabbed the pan at the blonde, who backed away quickly to avoid getting burned.

Deidara lifted his hands and tried to act as calmly as possible, "Calm down one-chan…I didn't mean anything by it! Just, put the pan down before you hurt somebody."

She glared at him for a moment before slamming the pan on the table, making some of the eggs jump out and onto the piece of furniture. A stifled laugh came from Tobi; the boy was loving every second of what was happening right now. Kisame just watched with a smug smile on his face. He was so glad the girl never got angry with him, but it was also a good thing to know that she could get mad. She was always so happy and so bright most of the time that the savage emotion of anger seemed to be non-existent to her.

It was then that Ishiko and Kakuzu entered the kitchen. The tan man didn't stop to investigate the situation, but instead went straight for the cupboard to get a mug for his coffee. Ishiko, however, stood in the doorway with an analyzing look on her face. Her friend looked pretty peeved at Deidara…but Kisame wasn't involving himself in it, so it must not have been _too_ bad. Dariru noticed and her once-angry faced turned into one of joy. Deidara, confused also turned his head and he smiled as he saw his former friend's younger sister he had known as a child.

"Ishiko-chan!"

"Ishiko-chan, un!" They both called out at the same time but then they turned their heads to glare quickly at each other before they turned back to Ishiko with smiles on their faces. Ishiko almost laughed at the two. She smiled and held her mouth, stifling her laughter. Kakuzu shut the cupboard and narrowed his neon green eyes at the two, while proceeding to get his coffee. Ishiko walked in and nodded toward Dariru.

"Did I miss something?" Ishiko laughed, seeing the mess of scrambled eggs on the table. Deidara rubbed his nose, recalling the moment and he nodded while chuckling nervously himself. He glanced at Dariru was giving him a 'don't-mention-anything-about-us-not-getting-along-or-sleep-with-one-eye-open' look. He gulped and looked back at the Akatsuki spy.

"No, not really, un." Ishiko immediately looked at Dariru was already cooking the scrambled eggs yet again and smiled at her. Kakuzu sat down next to the blue man and decided to watch as well with his own cup of coffee. Where the fuck was Konan anyway? He really didn't want to see a gossip talk between Ishiko and Dariru, he wanted to know whether his young lover was pregnant with his child or not. But she seemed pretty calm about it. In fact, she looked pretty happy. So, he didn't mind as much as he normally would.

"Hm, really? Well, today's the day!!" Ishiko said, clasping her hands together. Dariru raised an eyebrow.

"You seem excited about it." Dariru commented. Ishiko looked at her female friend with a bright smile.

"Of course, its confirmation." Ishiko pointed out, and Dariru 'ah'-ed before continued with making breakfast for everyone. Well, basically everyone except Zetsu, and Kakuzu. Zetsu was a cannibal and never really ate Dariru's food. She had no idea about Kakuzu. Although she'd occasionally catch Ishiko trying to convince him to eat the food but even she failed at that. She thought it was because Kakuzu simply didn't like her until Kisame told her that Kakuzu was always like that, so she didn't take any offense about it.

"I think once I get results everything will calm down again, I'm sure." Ishiko looked so calm about it as she took her own cup of coffee, but before she even sat down to take a sip Kakuzu snatched it out of her hands.

"Hey-!" She whined and looked at her tall lover with an authority look. Kakuzu looked at her as if she was a child begging for a toy.

"If you are pregnant it's not healthy to drink coffee." Kakuzu said sternly. It was amazing the man took the possibility of her being pregnant to such lengths; even Kisame gave him a shocked looked. Ishiko glared for a second before sitting down in the chair next to him, with crossed arms. Dariru and Kisame's eyes locked on the glowering couple before glancing at each other and shrugging and Dariru went back to cooking, now bacon. Deidara and Tobi continued their own spat but took the chasing to the living room while Dariru noticed one person missing.

"Anyone know where Itachi-san is?" Dariru asked. Ishiko stiffened unnoticeably and she looked down, unconsciously rubbing the spot where she injected herself last night, luckily her kekkei genkai had covered it up before Kakuzu came back last night. Kisame was the only one who looked up.

"I think he left to take care of something in the Northern Hideout." Kisame offered. Dariru's brown orbs flashed to Ishiko before she proceeded in making breakfast. And the silence draped across the room, before it was roughly broke and ripped to shreds as the blue-haired kunoichi everyone knew and had confused feelings about appeared in the room and held a bag full of water and paper boxes.

"I have it! It's time!" She turned to look at Ishiko. Konan quickly grabbed Ishiko's wrist and dragged the brown-haired girl down the hall, despite her protests. Dariru dropped what she was doing and went after the two soon after, wanting to be there in case Ishiko find any news unpleasant. Kisame and Kakuzu watched and then Kisame finally turned to Kakuzu.

"So… What are you gonna do if you really did knock Ishiko up?" Kisame asked, taking a sip of his coffee, careful not to burn his tongue. Kakuzu stayed silent for a while and Kisame thought for a second that he wasn't going to answer, not like he really ever did. But then Kakuzu set down the mug of coffee he took away from Ishiko earlier and sighed lowly.

"Then I'll take care of her. With Dariru around it would make things easier. Ishiko needs the comfort if she is." Kakuzu seemingly grumbled in that deep voice of his. Kisame didn't bother to comment, so he simply let it at that and let the silence take over once again.

---

Ishiko was half-expecting Konan to be delicate about the whole thing. But she was proven wrong. She was dragged through the hallway and practically thrown into the bathroom. She was thankful for her ninja reflexes to catch the bag of pregnancy tests and bottles of water before it hit her straight in the face and cause brain damage. Konan then explained to her to drink a bottle of water and take a test, and then repeat. With a quick smirk and a reassuring smile from Dariru, Konan slammed the door shut, leaving Ishiko to wonder when the bathrooms seemed so large and empty. Ishiko shivered before she opened the plastic bag and took one o the tests. Reading the price label reading 29.99, Ishiko took her head. Kakuzu would definitely make a fuss about this. Maybe if she was pregnant, Kakuzu wouldn't mind so much. She shakily opened it and revealed the small instrument, sighing and shaking off any instrument; she went over to the toilet and dropped her pants. It was only then she realized her problem. _Wait... Am I supposed to aim it… or? _She felt ridiculous she didn't exactly know what to do, and the instructions on the box didn't help much either.

She hardly knew anything about things like this. Her Mother was too insane to bring it up with, and Keisuke would only give her light answers. Going as far as saying the ninja stork brought about babies in the night and stuffing them into women's uteruses. Ishiko from then on never brought up such questions with him again. But Ishiko decided to try her best. _This is my future I'm talking about! I can't be such a pussy about it! _Ishiko scolded herself. She did the test to the best of her ability , trying her best to not get piss all over herself. The knock on the bathroom door startled her and caused her to drop the test without reading it first, causing her to curse.

"Need help or something?" Konan called in and Ishiko pulled up her pants and walked over to grab it.

"N-No that's okay." Ishiko called back again and grabbed the tests to read the result , only to drop it again. Outside, Konan and Dariru held each other's hands awaiting the result.

"So?" Dariru asked in. Ishiko almost heaved and she tried to steady her shaking hands.

"It's…" Ishiko started. Her heart dropped to her gut and she almost wanted to cry.

"It's a negative." Dariru's hopeful smile faded a little, but Konan kept her posture. "Well, you've still got a few more to piss on. So open up a bottle and fill that bladder!"

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Ugh. I hate english. I hate it. I hate it. And Biology. It's just so cut-throat.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm glad me and Blood Thirsty Me have such a cool relationship. I get stuck, I send it to her and she puts in a couple of paragraphs. It's a really good relationship I think. Like mutualism.

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Chapter Six

The small display on the plastic device had been blank for the longest time. So long, in fact, that it made Ishiko wonder if she had done it right. Or maybe it was the dizzying combination of emotions that she was feeling that made it seem like such a long time? This was the last pregnancy test. Most of the others had turned out positive, but a few had said negative. But this one would be the deciding result; she didn't know how she knew, but she did. Female intuition was such a wonderful trait.

There was a faint beep that made the kunoichi look down. The pregnancy test blinked the results slowly on its display screen. Time seemed to freeze as Ishiko stared at the piece of plastic blankly, her whole being void of all emotion for just a split second.

Then, all at once, the spy released all of her swarming emotions with one long scream.

The first pregnancy test Ishiko had taken had turned out negative; however, the next one had turned out to be positive. Konan kept telling the girl to use all of the tests before coming to a conclusion. At one point, Ishiko had drunk all the water in the bottles the blue-haired woman had given her, for Dariru and Konan heard the spy turn on the bathroom sink. Now she was on the final test and it made Dariru giddy to the point that she couldn't be still. For over fifteen minutes, her fingers twitched and fidgeted to the point of annoying Konan.

Dariru wasn't sure who was more nervous: Herself, or her friend in the bathroom.

But the nervousness that infected the short-haired girl's nerves like a disease was from the paranoia that nagged at the back of her head. Would Pein order Ishiko to get rid of the baby? How would Kakuzu react to the news? It was one thing to react nervously over a possibility; but that reaction would be _completely_ different to one of hearing concrete inevitability. Though, Dariru knew Kakuzu wouldn't lay a hand on his lover, she did wonder if he was capable of neglect…?

The girl shook her head and kept moving her fingers in quick little motions. No, Kakuzu would never neglect Ishiko. He wasn't like that to her.

"Stop being so fidgety!" Konan scolded, "It's not like that's you in there!"

Her fingers stopped moving for a split second in shame, but soon resumed their little motions. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, "I always get too worried for my buddies."

It was then that an ear-piercing scream shot into the air from the other side of the bathroom door. Konan and Dariru covered their ringing ears from the sudden pain just as Ishiko burst from the little room. The spy didn't show emotions very often, so it was a surprise when they saw the girl grinning from ear to ear with joy. She still had the pregnancy test in her hand when she exclaimed, "I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant!"

An energetic smile crept onto Dariru's as she went to hug her friend. It was a tight hug, and Ishiko made sure not to touch the girl with pregnancy test for hygienic reasons. "I'm so happy for you!" The short-haired girl squealed as Konan watched the two with a smile on her face. She wanted to join them in their ecstatic celebration, but she knew she shouldn't; not when she had to think of a way to convince Pein to let Ishiko keep the baby. And she had a feeling that allowing him to do whatever he pleased to her body wouldn't cut it this time. No, this situation was too serious to even consider sex as a solution.

This was a _baby_; a fresh human life waiting to be sculpted into a fully-functioning individual. It was nothing like taking in Ishiko and Dariru. For several years, the child will be useless to the organization, and may possibly be more of a hindrance than anything else. It was going to take a lot of effort to persuade Pein to let the baby live. It'll be a bigger problem if Kakuzu went on a furious rampage should his unborn child be denied life.

"Ishiko," Konan called out to the girl, almost feeling bad for breaking up their joy. The two girls stopped their giggling and looked at the woman, their smiles still plastered onto their faces. The woman licked her lips nervously and spoke to them like a mother giving a child a life-long lesson, "You can't tell Kakuzu you're pregnant. Not yet."

The smiles quickly faded into confused frowns. Ishiko was the one to ask, "Why?"

"Whether this baby will be born is up to Pein-sama," the words felt heavy and seemed to leave a lump in Konan's throat that she couldn't swallow down. "If he decides that the baby will be of no use to the organization, then I'm afraid you'll have to get rid of it."

Immediately the girl's hand went to her stomach protectively and the kind of fury that could only be found in a parent's eyes glowed in Ishiko's. "I'm not going to get rid of my baby. No matter what Pein says." The spy's voice was even and cold; as if her word were suddenly law.

"If you won't get rid of it, then Pein-sama will!" She was only trying to give the girl a look into the future. With Pein, the woman wasn't sure what his reaction would be. She just wanted to prepare the girl for the worst. "Listen: I'm not asking you to get rid of it now. I'm just telling you what will happen if he doesn't want a baby in the organization." The girl's eyes glared at her as if she were holding a knife. It was then that the blue-haired kunoichi noticed Dariru's hand gripping Ishiko's arm as if holding her back. "I'll talk to him; try to convince him to let you keep the baby. I'm not making any promises, but I ask you to not tell Kakuzu yet. If Pein-sama wants you to get rid of the baby _after_ you've told Kakuzu you're pregnant…then I don't think even you'll be able to stop your man from his rampage."

Realization flooded the girl's eyes and so did rational thinking. Konan had a point. It would be best if Kakuzu didn't find out until Pein had uttered his final word. However, fear and anger made Ishiko shake. _I'm not going to lose this baby…if Pein-sama wants it gone, then I'll go to Mother…_though she shuddered at the thought of her mother's reaction to the sudden news.

"Then what should we tell Kakuzu in the mean-time?" Dariru asked warily.

A mischievous smile glided onto Konan's lips. "You two won't tell him anything." Before either girl could protest she added, "You're both gonna go out to the closest town and stay there until I come for you. If I'm not there by ten, go ahead and stay the night at a hotel. So, Dariru," she nodded to the short-haired girl, "make sure Ishiko doesn't get into trouble." Konan said sternly. Ishiko looked at the blue-haired kunoichi with a small smirk.

"You say that as if I'm a trouble-maker." Ishiko pointed out and Konan turned to look pathetically at the girl. She could recall several times Ishiko had caused problems all by herself in the past. Getting drug-dealers angry with her and hunt her down, stationed several subordinates in Iwa for some reason, and even nearly burn one of the hideouts down.

"That's because you are sometimes." Dariru looked between the two, not liking the fact she had no idea what they were talking about. Ishiko smiled even wider, knowing if she was gone fore more than an hour Kakuzu would be tearing the hideout shred by shred in search of her.

"Well, I'm not sure what hiding me away is going to do. Kakuzu would just search for me." Ishiko said, putting a hand on her belly again. She felt as if she should be ashamed. Ashamed she let such a thing happen again. Ashamed that she was pregnant with Kakuzu's child. But she knew that was wrong to think. Konan sighed.

"Yes. But it's best this way for now. Trust me." Ishiko's eyes softened and she looked up to meet blue ones. She wasn't sure how long she would last without an injection. That was the main problem here. Ishiko had no idea how long they lasted sometimes, and she had no idea when an episode of muscle spasms was going to hit. It was even riskier, and filled her heart with fear knowing she was pregnant now. What is her child was to inherit her crippling disease? Dariru put a hand on Ishiko's shoulder, lightly brushing aside a lock of brown hair and offering a small smile.

"I'll be with you all the way Ishiko-chan. Don't worry!" Dariru. This was her chance to finally escape the chains on this hideout. Ishiko could risk a little episode for this girl's momentary happiness. Ishiko sighed and nodded.

"I know of a village. One of my subordinates is stationed there. I have some information to collect anyway." Information about her Mother's progress to be exact. She hadn't checked in for a while. So this was a good chance to. Maybe this was for the best, just as Konan had said. Konan smiled.

"I knew you'd understand. I'll see you two later." And she turned to leave the two to get started on heading out. Dariru turned to smile at Ishiko, and the girl had to admit, it was a bit heartwarming.

"This is going to be great!" Dariru assured.

---

Dariru was acting as if she was a blind man who was seeing light for the first time. Ishiko had to restrain from laughing a loud several times. They had to go into the tea shop where Ishiko usually went to rendezvous with clients and other agents as well as her own subordinates. It was only then Ishiko realized that all the isolation had rendered Dariru totally and completely socially-awkward. As a spy Ishiko had learned to always be smooth and charming, but Dariru was a fun sight to watch.

"I love your hair! How do you get it styled like that? Do you use gel? What kind? Oh! My, err, boyfriend's hair…"

She rambled to the poor waitress. Ishiko took a sip of her tea, ignoring the taste, but she was also trying to keep alert. She had told the waitress to call upon one of her subordinates she kept off the records. One that had connections to Iwa files like she did, But this was the one that kept an eye for her Mother. If Pein planned to have Ishiko get rid of this child she held inside her, then she planned to go back to stay with her Mother, despite the risk of beatings.

--- The moment Dariru and Ishiko had left for the outside world, Konan rushed to Pein's office. She was shaking with fear for the unborn baby and for herself. There was no way for her to know how he would unleash his possible anger. He might even turn on her. The thought made the kunoichi shiver uncomfortably. She loved Pein, and he loved her; but once that man's temper was lost, there was no stopping him. The woman was so caught up in her paranoia and how she would handle her pierced lover that she jumped when Kakuzu stopped her in the hall.

She took in a few heavy breaths to calm her pounding heart and the short burst of adrenaline. The tall man remarked, "You're wound up a bit tight today. Is something wrong with Ishiko?"

"Ishiko's fine," Konan grumbled, now mad at herself for not sensing his presence sooner. "Now, if you'll excuse me," but before she could leave, a large rough hand gripped her arm and held her in place.

"What are the results?" This was what the kunoichi was afraid of. She couldn't lie to him. Though she took pride in her ability to lie and get away with it, Kakuzu was even better at detecting them.

So she decided to try to dodge the question, "It's not my place to say."

His grip tightened threateningly around her arm. Emerald eyes glowed with irritation as they narrowed in a glare. "Tell me. _Now._" Kakuzu's voice was dark and demanding…

However, Pein's booming voice over-powered it.

"Kakuzu!" the organization's leader barked, "_Unhand her!_" As soon as the stitched man caught sight of his superior, the grip loosened on the kunoichi's arm, which she yanked away the moment she could.

Pein walked up to the two, using his domineering air to make the glare he was giving Kakuzu seem more frightening. Konan went to her lover's side and shivered happily when his hand glided around to her waist. The man even decided to ignore the stitched man for a moment to dip his head and breathed in the kunoichi's scent. His lips hovered teasingly over her ear, letting his warm breath make her insides melt.

Finally, the orange-haired man tilted his head to face Kakuzu. They exchanged glares before Pein growled out, "You're dismissed Kakuzu."

Had it been anyone else, Kakuzu would have stayed to argue and get his answer out of the blue-haired woman. But Pein was a dangerous man; and the last thing he wanted was to start a fight with him. Without another word, Kakuzu turned and left the two alone. If Konan wouldn't answer his question, then he would find Ishiko and have her give him the answer.

As soon as the tan man was out of sight, Pein went to kiss his kunoichi. But instead of meeting with her warm lips, she turned her head and he kissed her cheek. He pulled away, puzzled by her action. She had never denied him a kiss before; in fact, it was usually she who would make the first move. Was it that time of the month again? Or had Kakuzu done something to her before had interjected?

His insides burned and he asked darkly, "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing," she answered; but her next words sounded so scared and small, "Pein…I need to talk to you."

He could tell the matter was important. This was no time to play games. The hand that was on her waist moved up to her shoulder as he began to escort her to his office. "I'm listening."

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OOOO Remember to review and read both stories.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry y'all this chapter took so long. Blood Thirsty Me has a job and I have all honors classes thus means a large amount of work. I have about three projects going on and one's due today... and its not even finished ^^;;; So... Yeah, its a comic book project... and then another due's next week and it includes nailing in nails into a piece of wood and threading designs by making lines and angles. So it's exhausting. And I have a huge dance thing- going. I have to practice it becuase it involves about 7 different combinations and its really fast. AND my birthday's the 21st. So I'm pretty beusy these days, its ridiculous.

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Chapter Seven

Kakuzu felt about ready to lose his mind. And so was Kisame.

Kakuzu had been searching high and low for his younger lover. She was nowhere to be found. He searched in the bedroom; she wasn't in his private bathroom or his private office. He was started to fret. And it bothered him. But then again, anytime he became stressed because Ishiko was missing, it bothered him on how such a mere little girl could have such an effect on him. How the disappearance of a meager Iwagakure girl can make an S-ranked criminal so anxious. He didn't want to rampage through the hideout, fearing she was simply taking a nap somewhere and didn't want to disturb his possibly pregnant fiancé. Was she at her Mother's place…? Kakuzu didn't even want to consider that a possibility. There was no way Ishiko could have returned to such a hell hole with that insane woman. But where else could she be? The tall Akatsuki member didn't like the way Konan was answering his question earlier either.

"It's not my place." Kakuzu mocked. Well it was his business to know. And damn Pein for getting in the way. His anger was bubbling and his fists clenched. Ishiko wouldn't be here to stop him this time if something were to set him off like Dariru's ridiculous comment. Kakuzu stopped in his tracks mid-way of pacing through the hallway. Dariru. He hadn't noticed her anywhere either. He growled and narrowed his eyes, setting a new object to find. He knew if he could find that lost kitten Kisame dragged in, he would find his world.

Kisame had been searching everywhere and was about to go bald from pulling his hair out in frustration. Panic and anxiety rose in his chest. Dariru never left the hideout. Why now all of a sudden? Maybe she finally realized she wouldn't want such a grotesque-looking man like Kisame for a lover and took off? That made him nervous above all radical ideas that popped in his head. He noticed Ishiko was gone as well. Did they run away together? Was their kiss two nights a go mean more than just an attempt to get him and Kakuzu horny???

"Dear God!!" Kisame yelled in panic.

---

Ishiko wouldn't have noticed if not for the sudden change of direction of her eye. She saw only a flicker of bright red hair and a man, no more than twenty sat in the empty third seat of her and Dariru's table. He looked nervous, and by the cloak and boots, Ishiko could tell he was preparing to leave town. Was somebody after him? Dariru looked at the man in surprise and looked at Ishiko for some sort of reassurance. Ishiko had none. The man looked directly at the Akatsuki spy with a pleading look.

"Yamako-senpai." The man spoke and Dariru's brown eyes turned from surprised to curious and confused. Ishiko didn't look up from stirring her tea and she gently brought it up to her lips.

"You've kept me waiting Ryou." Ishiko spoke, in a tone Dariru recognized. It was a tone she only spoke after coming back from a long undercover mission. Is that was she was here? Some persona she created undercover? Then Dariru would have to play along. She didn't want to screw something up after only being in the outside world for a few moments. Ryou looked down, ashamed and he nervously clutched the vanilla colored envelope. His bright red hair was almost blinding Dariru, but Ishiko seemed to not mind at all.

"I-I'm sorry Yamako-senpai. But… your Mother." Ishiko didn't look at him. Ryou drifted and he looked own again, feeling as if Ishiko's gaze was poisonous. It really made Dariru wonder. What kind of persona exactly did Ishiko create to strike this much fear into a person? Ryou gulped and continued.

"What is her status?" Ishiko asked coldly, not liking the wait for information on her Mother. She lifted the tea up for a drink. This persona liked tea.

"**Your Mother committed suicide; she died a week before Tomoe-sama was hanged.**"

SMASH!!

Ryou recoiled as if he was going to be hit, but the tea spilt as the cup Ishiko let slip through her fingers crashed onto the table and Dariru jumped back from shock of the hot liquid splashing everywhere.

Dead? Her Mother?

Dariru couldn't believe her ears. Ishiko's Mother committed suicide? Dariru never really knew anything about the person who gave birth to Ishiko. In fact, Dariru never really knew anything about Ishiko. Only what Kisame and Ishiko told her. Kakuzu hardly communicated with her, so the only information about Ishiko she ever got was from her own lover and Ishiko herself. Kisame had told her that Ishiko was from Iwagakure- though Dariru never found a headband indicating so- and that Ishiko and Deidara had been friends since childhood. All she ever got from Ishiko was one day after Mother's Day.

_Ishiko wandered into the kitchen, a forlorn look on her face. Kakuzu looming right behind her as if she was about to fall into a pit of spikes in the middle of the kitchen. Dariru watched and noticed the obvious distress in the girls face. __"Ishiko-chan?" Immediately, Dariru received a cold glare from the stitched man, telling her silently to go away. Had her friend not looked so down, she probably would have left the two alone. But she didn't look happy, so Dariru ignored Kakuzu's glare but kept her distance from him anyway. "Are you okay?"_

_There was a pause before Ishiko whispered, "Yes…I'm fine."_

_No she wasn't. Everything about her body language was wrong. But accusing her of a lie would be dangerous, so Dariru asked, "How's your mother doing? I heard you went out to see her on Mother's Day?" The stitched man took a hostile step forward, but before he could advance any further, his young lover placed a hand on his arm and moved in front of him. Dariru felt her gut sink and her eyes heat up from the development of tears. There were faded bruises on her face and arms. On a normal person those bruises would have bright and colored with the many different shades of purple and black. But on Ishiko they were yellow and even a bit green as if they had been healing for weeks. _

_However, that still didn't stop the fact that they were bruises and that they were on her friend._

"_She's…doing fine," Ishiko mumbled, keeping her back straight as if trying to keep her dignity. "She's still the same from the last time I visited." And though she could tell her friend was trying to hide the venom in her voice, she still heard it. It was enough for Dariru to put the pieces of the puzzle together._

_Who in their right minds would ever beat their child? It just seemed so cruel that the short-haired girl was at a loss for words. What could she say to comfort her friend? Nothing. Because it wasn't going to be "okay" that a mother decided to beat her own blood. It was just wrong…_

_Kakuzu then placed a hand on Ishiko's shoulder and began to lead her out of the room. "Let's go Ishiko," he mumbled as the two walked past the baffled Dariru. _

Now that woman who had inflicted such pain on Ishiko was dead. And as the once-abused girl clenched her fists and hung her head low, Dariru knew she was deeply hurt by the news. Even though the mother had beaten the child, the child still felt a connection to the one who had birthed her. Now that connection was broken, and she felt such a gut wrenching sadness that made her want to join her mother.

The man named Ryou shook with fear and licked his lips nervously. "Yamako-senpai…?"

"Leave…" Ishiko snarled between clenched teeth. Her whole body looked tense with anger and sadness. It made Dariru nervous as to what her friend may do.

Even after hearing her warning, the man still remained in his seat. Dariru looked at him and ordered in a stern voice, "Do as you're told boy."

Still the man wouldn't leave. He reached out to the broken Ishiko with a shaking hand. "Yamako…senpai? I-I'm sorry—"

Ishiko slapped his hand away violently and stood up so fast her chair fell backwards. "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!" she hollered furiously at the now cowering man. Her tone even made Dariru sink back in her seat; she had never seen her friend so upset before. Ryou fell out of his seat from her sudden outburst and scrambled back to his feet before running out of the tea shop, almost knocking over a passing waitress.

Everyone in the shop stared at the two girls in confusion before awkwardly returning to their own business. Ishiko stormed out of the little building with Dariru following her closely. But then she noticed the vanilla envelope, left cold and alone on the table, she snatched it, in case Ishiko wanted to have a look at it later- she figured it was important since Ryou had brought it to her in the first place- and caught up with her distressed friend. But she felt compelled to do something about this. This was extreme erratic behavior. Ishiko was never one to yell, or use any sort of violence. But she guessed having your mother commit suicide could do that to a person. But it didn't all surprise her. If her Mother was out of her mind enough to beat her own child, she was certainly out of her mind enough to commit suicide.

"Ishiko…?" Dariru whispered, Ishiko seemed to be on a march. But she had no idea where. Ishiko unconsciously lifted a hand to her forehead, delicately tracing the scar she should have never gotten. She was definitely getting older. Dariru followed behind her, and concern practically radiated off of her. But Ishiko didn't want any of it at the moment. Her Mother was dead. And so was her Grandfather. Though, she didn't care so much for her Grandfather, the only thing she ever received from him was her special ops training and her kekkei genkai. But if he was dead then that meant… She stood still.

---

"We have a situation." Konan spoke slowly as Pein made his way to his desk and sat down, almost carelessly. He was looking at the word map inside a scroll he kept. He looked at it like a school girl would stare at a picture of her crush.

"Did you know that the latest Tsuchikage was hanged just a few days ago?" Pein brought up. Konan stood confused on why he was staring to discuss such things. The Tsuchikage? Ishiko's Grandfather? Well, there went a use for her. That may have brought down the chances of Pein letting Ishiko keep her baby. Konan tried to continue.

"Ishiko-"

"And that Iwagakure is actually a monarchy? Who knew such governments still existed in the ninja world?" Pein spoke again. Pein was really making it hard for Konan to keep on track, but she was determined in her goal. But Pein waved at her and closed his ringed eyes.

"Though, I expected so. That was why there were so many assassination attempts on the Tsuwa family. But that's where their kekkei genkai kicked in. That healing ability is just so attractive. Too bad it slowly weakens as the use gets older." Pein said again while he sighed the last sentence. Konan's eyebrows curled in confusion. Wait, monarchy? (Note: In case you don't know, a monarchy is a government type were the rulers are born into a ruling –normally royal-family, unless a ruling family is killed off or rendered unable to rule, there would be no rulers who don't have the royal bloodline.) So did that mean Ishiko was the last descendant? Now she got it. Pein see that Ishiko would be the last viable candidate for the Tsuchikage.

"Pein-sama, I have important news," Pein stood up, and before Konan could speak anymore, he set a painted finger on her lips and set in slowly, his breathe drawing on her chin and jaw line.

"I'm a God Konan, of course I know that. Ishiko is with child." Pein whispered. Konan's eyes subtly widened and then she realized she shouldn't be shocked at all. Pein was possibly the most powerful ninja in the world. Of course he could tell something as simple as the fact Ishiko was pregnant. She could hear the orange-haired ninja chuckle lightly a grab her by the waist. But the worry in Konan's eyes alerted him of some realization she came to. So he decided to divulge.

"Ishiko's automatically an 'out' for a candidate for the next Tsuchikage. The people there know she's involved with Kakuzu. Her having a child is perfect. We raise the child, they become an alias for the Akatsuki, and then that child would be the natural heir for the Tsuchikage position. We would have a connection and sense of control over all the Earth Country. We would have control over the second biggest ninja country." Pein explained. Konan stared at him with her blue eyes. Was this his version of him saying 'Yes Ishiko can have a baby'? But in that same perspective, Pein was a God. He was the one deciding if a life would be a born or not, and for what purpose. She nodded and placed her pale painted hands on his pierced face. It would be a touch decision for Ishiko, but the blue-haired woman knew Ishiko would take it. Because having a baby who would be practically expected all their life to be the Tsuchikage and assist a criminal organization would be better than denying it a life altogether.

---

Dariru would have run into her suddenly still friend if not her retained ninja skills. Ishiko didn't say anything as she turned again, fully facing Dariru and looked at her, then to the ground, in thought. Dariru had possibly never been so confused. Ishiko was so upset about the news of her mother and this Tomoe guy, and now she seemed confused about something.

"Ishiko-chan, what's wrong?" Dariru offered. Ishiko didn't answer right away and her eyes locked on the vanilla envelope. Dariru caught on and handed the envelope to the girl who snatched it out of her hands and practically ripped it open. Ishiko took out the small sheets of paper. They were death certificates. Her Mother, suicide. Her Grandfather; hanged. Her brother, killed by Sarutobi Asuma. Her father, war. She was the last Tsuwa. Emptiness filled her, and swelled in her heart, making her knees shake until they could no longer support her body. Dariru cried out her name in shock and caught her, so her fall wouldn't have been as painful. But it might as well have been.

"Kakuzu would be happy." Ishiko wheezed. Dariru held her, but it didn't help in the least. Coldness bit at her skin and she clutched at anything she could grab. She wanted to scream. She wanted to wail. She wanted to sob and punch the ground all at the same time. She knew she should have gone to see her Mother that day she saw Keisuke die. Kakuzu would be happy. But her tall lover never liked her Mother in the first place. But Dariru still had no idea. Ishiko was safe now. Wasn't she happy as well?

"Nothing was wrong with her. Why did he think that? She wasn't sick!" Ishiko cried again, taking whatever comfort Dariru's body offered. Dariru, though, had no idea what Ishiko was talking about. Kakuzu thought Ishiko's Mother was sick? Was what going on?

* * *

I think both Blood Thirsty Me and I agree there should be more time in the day that allows us to wor on this story. I like working on it, but there isn't enough time to work on it.


	8. Chapter 8

I really like how this story's going. I think I might put Child Play on hiatus becuase I currently can't think of anything for the plot advancement to save my life. I know what I want to do with it, but i'm just not sure how to connect the bridges and events. So, it's gonna be puased for a while. Also, remember to review for this story!! And Read both stories that lead up to it!! Much appreciated!!

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Chapter Eight

Steam clouded their vision as the soothing warm waters of the hot spring worked its natural magic on their tense muscles. There were only a few other women in the facility with the two brown-haired girls, but they didn't bother them. After Ishiko had calmed down was able to walk, Dariru had suggested that they go to the town's hot springs. The waters would soothe their bodies and relieve tension; it was a trick she had learned from her own mother back in Kirigakure. Every time Dariru had been in a bad mood or had been beaten very heavily during training, her mother would drag her to the hot springs. She would go in upset or tired and then leave feeling refreshed and happier. And now, a few hours soaking in hot water seemed like the one thing Ishiko needed to calm down.

Ishiko was leaning her back against one of the decorative rocks that was placed in the spring with her eyes closed. The water was indeed calming her nerves and loosening her muscles, but it still wasn't helping her mind. Her mother just committed suicide and her grandfather was dead. It just depressed her that she and the baby were the last ones in the Tsuwa family. And though a part of her wanted to join the rest of her family, a greater part of her wanted to keep living for Kakuzu and the baby. She took in a deep meditative breath and then exhaled. It was a good thing Dariru had brought her here; it was such an easy way to relax besides meditating in a run-down motel room.

"Dariru-chan?" the spy questioned quietly, not wanting the other women in the springs to overhear their conversation.

"Yes?"

"What are your parents like?" The question caught the short-haired girl by surprise. She would have thought that her friend would want to avoid family-related matters. Or perhaps it was because of her family lose that made her curious?

Even so, Dariru began to tread with caution, "Well, my father is a shinobi and my mother is the owner of a bookstore."

Ishiko rolled her head over to the side to look at her friend. "What rank was your father?"

"Um…he was head of security for the village." The girl giggled a little at a memory, "It was because of his extra training that I was able to research the Seven Swordsmen."

A smile crept over the spy's mouth, "Is that why you like Kisame-san so much? Because he's one of the Seven Swordsmen?"

A small blush decorated her cheeks, "Only partly. But I love him for being so violent in fights and for being polite…"she sighed dreamily at the thought of her blue lover, "Honestly there's barely anything that I hate about him…" The girl was completely infatuated by the man; it made Ishiko wonder if there was anything that could separate the two. It also made her wonder how Kakuzu was faring back at the base. She really hoped he wasn't having a fit. Her fingers went to her belly and rubbed it gently, hoping the baby could feel it too. How she hoped the baby didn't get her disease; if it did, she didn't know how she could live with herself. What if she ended up like her mother and would beat her child?

No. No, she would never touch her child in such a way! She would kill herself before she ever laid a violent finger on it! And no amount of dementia or pain would change that.

The two remained in the hot springs for a few more hours before Ishiko stood up and waded out of the warm water. "Let's see if Konan-san is here yet." She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her wet body as she heard Dariru follow her out. She was hoping Konan would bring good news; the last thing she needed was to hear that her baby wasn't allowed to live.

---

Kakuzu was about ready to resort to violence. After hours of searching the base, he couldn't find either Ishiko or that mutt Dariru. He had even confronted Kisame about it, thinking that the blue man had taken the two girls somewhere, but even he didn't know where they were.

"Dariru's nowhere in the base," Kisame had informed in, "I've looked everywhere and I can't find her!" The shark-man was really worried for his young woman, but Kakuzu paid no attention to that detail. What mattered to him was Ishiko and only Ishiko.

The man had stormed angrily to Konan's room and was surprised to see that the blue-haired woman wasn't in there. He was tempted to ask Pein where she was, but decided against it. Especially since their confrontation didn't end on the best of terms. There was only one place that he hadn't checked…

"The surface," he grumbled at the thought. What business would she have up there? And if she did, why didn't she tell him before she had left? She normally did, and in her state she had no right to be. Kakuzu buttoned his cloak and packed a few extra kunai knives, just in case, and was about to head out before he was stopped by Kisame.

"Did you find them yet?"

"No," the stitched man pushed past the blue one, "but I'm about to."

A hand grabbed his shoulder and Kisame stated, "I'm going with you?"

"What the hell for?" Kakuzu scoffed.

"If you find Ishiko, then Dariru is bound to be nearby. And I don't want you to attack her again." Kakuzu almost smirked. Kisame must have thought a lot of this girl if he thought Kakuzu would waste his time over a mutt from Kirigakure. But it would help, since Ishiko and Dariru were attached at the hip, and if he knew Dariru, the girl would be running to Kisame is he appeared like a dog to its owner. So, he sighed and decided to let the fish man to follow him.

---

Ishiko dressed in black white robes. She felt like she was back in Iwagakure. And sitting with Dariru she really did feel calm, but the emptiness of her Mother's death still echoed. She felt like she was awaiting execution. And compared to Dariru she felt so plain. Her in black and white and the shorter-haired girl was dressed in robes that were decorated with dragon flies. Dariru turned to her after setting down a small plate of dumplings with a wide smile.

"So how does pregnancy feel?" Dariru asked humorously. Ishiko managed to crack a smile back. She set a hand on her stomach, which in a few months would be bulging with life, but that all depended on what Pein decides. Ishiko couldn't describe it, and she never knew such a thing would feel this way. She had always thought pregnancy was this wrecked emotion, and an experience which brought on pain and embarrassment. But she was feeling a fluttering in her stomach. She felt so happy. She would be a mother, and to the child of Kakuzu's none the less.

"I feel…" She tried to think of perfect words to explain this feeling to her friend. She frowned when none came to mind.

"I feel… so happy. I'm going to be a Mommy to somebody." Ishiko felt like giggling. Dariru slowly smiled. Not even a month into pregnancy and Ishiko was already glowing that motherly glow pregnant women often did. Ishiko seemed stable for now. But the worry kept nagging at her, and she couldn't push it away. A worry about the Tsuchikage position. If her Grandfather was hanged, and she was the last remaining member of the –small- Tsuwa family. She and this child are the heirs. Eventually one of them would have to go back. But she would never want her child to have to go to that forsaken village.

"Ishiko-chan, be careful, your joy is showing." Dariru teased.

The spy grinned, taking some chopsticks and picking up a dumpling. "Might as well get used to it Dariru-chan. I'm just going to get happier when the baby starts to develop." She took a bite out of the dumpling and furrowed her brow. There was something missing in the taste…she wasn't sure what it was though. The moment the girl caught sight of the salt, she grabbed it and smothered the dumpling in the tiny white crystals. She took another bite and reveled at the taste. It was perfect.

Dariru almost asked what her friend had been thinking putting so much salt on a dumpling. But then she remembered that pregnant women tend to get strange cravings. She never knew that phase would start so soon. The girl shrugged and just grabbed some chopsticks and began to eat non-salted dumplings.

---

Konan rolled to her side, pulling some of the blankets over her naked body to keep away the cold. Pierced lips kissed lightly on her bare back and she shivered at the feeling of Pein's hand as it began to roam around her body again. "Don't you have to be somewhere?" he whispered as his lips made their way to her ear. She was so glad he did not tire easily; it made sex easier.

The woman turned her head to look at him in his grey eyes. "It'll be nightfall soon. I'm sure the girls have already checked into a room already. I'll give them the 'okay' tomorrow morning." A sly grin appeared on his face at her answer. She knew exactly what the man had in mind now that she was free for the night.

"Good answer," Pein mumbled before kissing her lips.

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Is it me or does Pein always seem horny?


	9. Chapter 9

LOL. Halloween's coming uo and I have 61 $ Either I can be Haruhi Suzumiya including some makeup I've been meaning to buy for a while, or I can save up even more and buy a C.C costume which is who I reaaaaally badly want to be!! Ah!! My cheap-ness senses are drawing in! I'll ask my Mom before I do anything though, she's a wiz at internet shopping XD

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Chapter Nine

It had finally begun to rain and Kakuzu felt like cursing to himself. He had been in harsh rains all of yesterday and he had to endure it again. Why did it seem like whenever he was trying to find his Ishiko did it always seem to rain? He shrugged the thought off and continued; the fish man a couple steps behind him. But a flash of bright red hair made his face snap to look and the boy's face looked familiar he seemed to be trying to escape the small village, his panicked face also looking very familiar.

_Kakuzu felt like killing somebody as he walked through the halls of the Hideout. He was horny as hell and he didn't exactly feel like playing Easter egg hunt with his fiancé. He went to the living room, and he saw his fiancé sitting across the small coffee table from a bright red-haired boy, perhaps a little older than her. His eyes looked at his and then all color flushed from his face. Ishiko looked up from some file she was viewing and looked back, a small smile appeared and she lost it before turning back. _

"_Pay attention Ryou-san; are you in a rush to go someplace that's more important than being with me at the moment…?" Ishiko tested Ryou gulped and shook his head furiously. Kakuzu didn't understand the problem. Who wouldn't want to be the in presence of his lover? But what was he doing here exactly? _

"_What's this boy doing here?" Kakuzu asked, his deep voice rumbling like thunder and Ishiko didn't even look back as Kakuzu walked up behind her and sat down, lifting her up only to place her on his lap. She didn't even flinch. Her eyes were glued to the paper that seemed to be so distracting from his small kisses on her neck and shoulder. Ryou turned as red as his hair as Kakuzu moved the shoulder of the kimono top she wore under her Iwa Chunnin vest to expose more creamy almond skin to kiss. _

"_He's my top informant." She looked up to finally look at Ryou, but he looked away, embarrassed to be intruding on such a private act. _

"_Y-Yamako-s-sama, I can always c-come back." He stammered nervously, Ishiko lifted a confused eyebrow, as if there wasn't a huge Akatsuki member latched onto her shoulder like a leech. She set the file down and looked back at Kakuzu with bored eyes as he snuck a hot hand up her kimono top. He wasn't confused at all on why Ryou was calling her by a different name. She used different aliases all the time, which was just her job as a spy. _

"_We have guests Kakuzu-san, control yourself." Ishiko lectured. Kakuzu stopped to glare at the boy, knowing he was the cause that he wasn't able to completely screw her brains out like he wanted. His hand retreated and he settled for setting his chin on her shoulder. Ryou tried not to stare at the stitches. _

"_Ryou-san, I understand that the Hiroko clan has been on top security lately, but couldn't you at least try and get in there yourself?" Ishiko asked. Ryou shook his head and looked down to stop himself from staring at her lover's stitched face. _

"_No. They use sleeper jutsu's on their guards. If they tried that on me, I'd reveal that I was an informant to you or to somebody and end up killed." Ishiko hummed and put a hand under her chin. That was right. And she wouldn't want him killed. The Akatsuki spy looked up and smiled softly at the boy. _

"_Alright then, you can go now." Ryou looked up, panicked. He had to leave already? His eyes flashed to the man who currently held his superior and his protective nature got the best o him and accidentally glared. But before Kakuzu could launch and attack him for such a gesture, Ishiko set a hand on his cheek. _

"_Don't worry about Kakuzu here, he cannot harm me." Ishiko spoke. Ryou nodded and his stood up, looking back one last time before disappearing in a puff of smoke and Kakuzu didn't waste any time before ravishing Ishiko. _

"_That was bad of you, hiding from me to meet up with another man." Kakuzu said in between kisses. Ishiko almost smiled at his small jealousy. He opened her kimono top and continued to kiss her body. She sighed opened her brown orbs. _

"_Oh? And I'll be punished?" She teased, though she could tell Kakuzu wasn't in the teasing mood. He snapped up to look at her before giving her a bruising kiss. _

"_To hell you are!" _

He was her informant. But why was he here? Was she getting information? If he was here, then so was Ishiko, and that mutt nearby. He could feel Kisame getting anxious behind him, but he didn't care in the least. He quickly appeared before the male, making him shriek and fall back in surprise. Kisame not far behind him, wondering why Kakuzu was bothering with a boy. The stitched man grabbed the boy and dragged his whimpering body into a nearby alley, not wanting anyone to see the interrogation.

With ease, he lifted the boy up by the collar of his shirt and slammed his back against a brick wall, making the boy moan in pain and shock. "Where is she!?" Kakuzu snarled dangerously, shaking him a little for added effect. Kisame stood outside of the alley, his ears listening in on the interrogation and his eyes on the lookout for any strangers.

"I-I-I don't kn-know who you're t-talking about!" He whimpered pathetically as Kakuzu's grip tightened on his shirt.

"Yamako! Your senpai? _Where is she!?_" The name was foreign to Kisame and it made wonder who Kakuzu was really looking for.

The boy gulped loudly and stuttered out in terror, "I…I don't know w-where she went." The answer made the stitched man furious. He threw the boy at a garbage pale, making both the metal object and human crash to the wet ground loudly. He knew Ishiko's informant was lying; he had to be. There was no way he didn't know where Ishiko was.

At the sound of violence, Kisame walked into the alley and stared at the shivering body of the boy. There quite a few questions the blue man wanted to ask his traveling companion, but he stuck with the most important one. "Does he know where they are?"

"Yes," Kakuzu mumbled, "and he refuses to tell me where they're hiding."

A pointed grin spread across Kisame's face as he took out a dull kunai knife, "Then I guess I'll have to make him talk." Had the stitched man not be so furious he would have tortured the boy himself; but he was, and would most likely kill the boy before they got anything useful out of him. The fish man, however, would do a better job at inflicting pain than death.

Kisame crouched in front of the shivering mass of boy, pulling his sandals off and propping one foot on his knee. The boy looked up at him in fear, wondering what the man would do to his feet. Almost teasingly, the blue criminal dangled the knife above the boy's foot before asking, "I'm only going to ask you once," he placed the dull edge of the blade against the bottom of the boy's pinky toe, "have you seen two girls today?"

Ryou licked his lips and nodded his head furiously.

The man pressed the blade harder against the toe, making the boy squeal at the pain. "_Where?_"

His breath became frantic, "In-in-in the t-t-tea shop! B-bu-but I don't know where they w-w-went after th-th-th-that! I s-swear!" Just for kicks, Kisame scrapped the skin off of the toe slowly, reveling in the screams that came out of his victim's mouth.

"Any idea where they might have gone?" He began to probe at the bleeding toe with his finger after covering it in mud. The feeling made Ryou whimper in agony. Why did these things always seemed to happen to him. But that's what he gets for being an informant. He remembered seeing the tall man, which was the man he saw practically smothering himself onto his senpai when he had to deliver a file to some sort of hideout. But he had no idea he was Akatsuki. And this blue-man who was currently probing his injured toe with a bacteria covered finger. Ryou felt like ripping his hair out.

"What business does Akatsuki have with my Yamako-senpai!!?" He screamed as he screamed with pain. Kisame stopped for a second, wanting to see how Kakuzu would react with Ryou using the term 'my' or his woman. He knew if anyone claimed Dariru as theirs, he'd rip their tongue out. He could visibly see Kakuzu's eye twitch, but before he could do anything about it, he decided to change the subject. They were here to find the two females, not let their egos stepped on by a boy.

"Trying to find… Yamako and her friend." As weak and whimper-y as Ryou was. Kisame had to admit he was an early-death type. For as that answer, Ryou spat in Kisame's face, causing the blue man to automatically cut of two toes. Ryou screamed with pain and turned to run but Kisame held him down by the neck. Ryou continued to let out weak strangled cries and yells for help.

"I have no idea wh-where they are! All I was supposed to do was deliver some files and news of her Mother! That's it!" Ryou started to cry. Kakuzu lifted an eyebrow. News of Ishiko's Mother? What could possibly be so important of that woman that he would need to meet with her?

"I informed her that her Mother was dead, and she yelled at me a-and I ran off!! Okay!?! And I guess that other girl followed Yamako-senpai!! Yamako-senpai was angry, and I didn't want to end up f-fired or anything!!" Ryou said in one frantic scream. He then broke out into small sobs and turned away, groaning in pain.

"Yamako-senpai, always calls for me first, I never w-went to her first." Ryou gathered enough dignity to say. Kisame turned to look at Kakuzu, who was staring at the ground. Kisame wanted to ask what was wrong, but instead he turned to the boy with a shadowy grin and lifted the dull kunai knife.

"So you really don't know?" Kisame asked in an intimidated voice. Ryou looked nervously at him and hissed from the pain of his loss of digits.

"N-No, I don't." He shivered from the cold of the rain and him being soaking wet. Kisame nodded and lifted himself up and turning to face Kakuzu. Guess they'd have to resort to searching for them by scent or something like that.

---

Ishiko had to say she was very well-hated. As a spy it was natural to create enemies, but it never worried her that some would ever return to finish business. The Akatsuki took care of that before it ever became a problem. That was part of the reason she would never work alone. Because the business you worked for normally took care of your enemies for you and kept them at bay. So it never crossed her mind. The only time she ever had to worry about it was when Benibara showed up. The girl with tattoos that covered her arms and the girl whose family Ishiko gave the order to execute. She looked over to Dariru who was organizing notes of some kind. She decided not to ask. If Dariru wanted to alert her of anything she would have done it already. She didn't really like to intrude on things that didn't really involve her. But Ishiko smirked to herself thinking that the notes where illegal research on Kisame.

_I'm sure Dariru-chan has done plenty of research on Kisame-san. _Ishiko almost chuckled out loud. The door busted down, and Ishiko looked up with a genuinely surprised look. Was that why Ryou was in such a hurry to get out of the village? Was it some annoyed old enemy? Dariru looked up and immediately jumped in front of Ishiko, defensively. In the doorway, it was an another male, maybe in his early teens. Ishiko thought for a second he was merely a genin ninja by his headband and simple attire. She really didn't worry at all. With Dariru's ability this was a good chance for Dariru to let off some steam and get rid of a pest. It wasn't like she was actually going to fight in her current state. She didn't even recognize this boy.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Dariru –maybe a little too hurriedly- got into a defensive stance, already charging her body up with chakra. Ishiko sat perfectly still, like a master would. It was dark outside, and it wasn't until a light by the door flickered on until the girls finally got a look at the intruder. His attire really wasn't simple at all. It was a uniform very similar to Iwagakure Chunnin uniforms, but the designs on the kimono were totally different. They were cheap knock offs. The man took a step up and placed one hand behind his back and in another in front of him, almost inviting Dariru to fight him.

"My name is Keisuke Tsuwa, I'm here to kill you, my dear sister." Ishiko's shoulder's slumped. Was this boy serious? This boy looked nothing like Keisuke in the least. His uniform was clearly a knock-off, and the Keisuke she knew, wouldn't have brought himself in the open like this. His hair wasn't chocolate brown like hers, ad if Keisuke _was _alive, he would be well in his twenties. Not early teens, and her brother wasn't one for using transformation jutsu. Masks yes, but never completely changing his form. Ishiko put a hand to her cheek and she exchanged small glances with Dariru. It was obvious she would have to explain things to her a little later. But she was tired of this. She was mourning her mother, she didn't need a reminder of her dead brother.

"I don't have time for an imposter. Dariru. You can have fun. You deserve it."

* * *

I wanna see so many movies! Saw 6 and Cirque Du freak (fukkin love that movie!!) I have so much planned, two birthday parties (both for me) projects and movies! I'm so excited but I wanna get a boyfriend so he can laugh on how ridiculous I'm acting whenever I see a Cirque Du Freak traler on TV XD


	10. Chapter 10

Hahaha, zomg I love my friend Evelyn so much! I was talking to my guy-friend Eric and he told me he had tamales for dinner and I told Evelyn this and she's all 'Is is a special occasion for white people when thy eat different food? Like 'OHH! Chinese! I get to eat with those wooden sticks and eat a cookie that tells the future!!' ' I cracked up XD Becuase... it kinda it. I mean if you mexican, you eat tamales all the time so its no big deal. White people get all exicted over tortillas and I'm all '...nothing special about that really.. -takes a bite of a tortilla-' Hahaha. Not trying to be racist or anything but its kinda true if you think about it.

* * *

Chapter Ten

"I don't have time for an imposter. Dariru. You can have fun. You deserve it."

Dariru smiled at Ishiko's orders. It had been a long time since she had fought anyone, so her technique would be a little rusty. But after a few minutes of combat, she was sure this intruder would be no problem. Dariru was the first to attack with a clenched fist charging straight for his face. The blocked with ease, but barely had enough time to evade the high front kick the girl swung at his chin. He jumped into the hallway, glaring at Dariru with his fists up in a defensive position. So far this guy was easy, but then again he hadn't thrown a punch yet. Who knows? Maybe he had an excellent offense.

"I don't want to hurt you," his statement made Dariru scoff in disbelief. He obviously hadn't noticed the small cut on his chin that her toenail had given him. "My quarrel is with the girl, not you."

"Sorry," she said, shifting into an offensive stance, "but you'll have to beat me first if you want to face her."

His eyes narrowed and mumbled, "Very well," and he charged forward. The hallway itself wasn't very wide so the distance between him and her was just as small. However, the way he had shifted his weight to his legs had revealed his strategy before he could even perform it. The girl let him charge like a bull, and she stopped him with one kick to his lower abdomen. The boy hunched over her leg as the wind left his lungs all at once, and he slumped to the ground in a quivering ball; trying its best to regain air.

The short-haired girl looked down at him in disappointment. She was hoping he'd be more of a challenge than this. "You're really bad at close-quarters combat." With thinking twice, the girl lifted her foot above him and brought it down upon his head. There was a sudden _POOF; _followed by a cloud of smoke enveloping the boy's body. Dariru hurriedly waved the smoke away to see one of the decorative pictures from the hall in place of the opponent. Her heart skipped a beat and she turned back to the room.

Standing in front of Ishiko was the intruder. Dariru saw his arm move to one of pockets and pulled out a kunai knife. Immediately, she picked up the picture that had been used in his substitution jutsu and threw it at him. The picture's frame broke against the back of the boy's head, who shrieked in surprise and pain. She charged at him just as he turned to face his attacker. One of her hands gripped onto the sleeve of his clothing, making him push away from her instinctively. The blade of the kunai cut through her kimono and left a deep scratch in her arm. The girl ignored the pain and used a hook-kick to break his cheek bone with her heel.

He let out an exclamation of pain and went to rub the broken skin and bone while Dariru examined her own wound skeptically. _Kisame's gonna have a fit when he finds this, _She mused. _Guess I should end this guy's misery before he does._

---

The first place Kakuzu and Kisame stopped at was the tea shop. It was a good start, but it had helped them as much as Ishiko's informant had. When they had entered the place it was packed with people wanting a warm beverage to battle the cold the rain was creating. A few eyes eyed the two men skeptically, but they eventually returned to their own business and continued sipping their tea. They went up to the counter and were greeted by a woman in her late forties, her hair beginning to grey and her skin becoming wrinkly. The moment she saw their faces her smile went away, and her once seemingly happy nature was replaced with nervousness and fear.

"W-what can do for you gentlemen?" she did her best not to stutter and had to use some effort to get the word "gentlemen" out.

"Have you seen two girls in here recently? One had long hair and the other looked like a boy." Kakuzu decided to cut the crap and get down to business. His patience was wearing down by every second.

"There have been quite a few girls with that description coming in here," the woman remarked with the mind-set of being a sort of protector to the two girls by not telling these two strange men where they were. However, she did a horrible job at hiding her high-mighty tone and Kakuzu would have strangled her had Kisame not grab his shoulder tightly.

"One of the girls, the one with the long hair…she had a bit of an outburst when she was here." Kisame gave a description to the woman who seemed to pale at his appearance. The blue man used her fear to his advantage by making sure his pointed teeth showed, "Do you know where they went after the outburst?"

The old woman gulped and mumbled, "Not exactly. The long-haired girl went to the northern part of the town. Her friend followed her. But if they're still in the village then they're probably in a hotel of some sort."

Kisame grinned and gave her a thankful nod, "Thank you ma'am." The woman only scowled lightly after the man but Kisame ignored it. He didn't care what she thought about him. He had learned to ignore people's stares a long time ago. But the only one who matter, and will ever matter was Dariru. And he had to be sure to get there before Kakuzu did. He looked at Kakuzu who seemed to be giving him the stink eye –he assumed it was because he had a bad case of pietism (Note: Pietism is a condition of which a erection occurs for so long it hurts until relieved) – and he stepped in front of the blue man.

"What did the woman say?" He demanded. Kisame lifted an eyebrow and walked past him.

"Hotel." Kakuzu didn't seem satisfied with that answer and grabbed Kisame by the collar and pulling him to Kakuzu's eye level, glaring at him with more ferocity than Kisame had ever seen in the man.

"_Did she say which one?!_" Kakuzu growled. Kisame gulped and for half a second, the thought that Kakuzu would actually lose his mind, being away from Ishiko for this long of time was obviously having a negative affect. But it was having the same affect on him as well, so he couldn't necessarily say Kakuzu was a total nutcase.

"No. We'll have to search the hotels. This is a small village though, it shouldn't be that hard." Kisame reasoned. He placed a hand on Kakuzu's wrist and abruptly shoved him away. He didn't want to waste time in being away from Dariru, and he thought Kakuzu would do the same. Especially since the possibility of Ishiko's pregnancy.

The two men walked out of the warm shop and into the cold rain. They had walked past some hotels on their way to the shop, but then again there seemed to be a few on the other side of the village too. It would definitely take some in searching for the girls together. The thought of splitting up crossed Kisame's mind for a split second, but decided against it. Kakuzu's irritation was starting to become _very _obvious and it would only be a matter of time before he started ripping buildings from the inside out just to find Ishiko. To leave the man alone would be a stupid thing to do, for he would most likely snap just because some kid looked at him wrong.

"Alright," Kisame mumbled, his eyes set on the closest hotel, "let's start over there and—" When he turned to make sure the stitched man was paying attention, he realized that he was gone! The blue man looked about his surroundings, wondering how Kakuzu was able to disappear so quickly and silently. The man was nowhere to be found. Kisame grumbled at his sudden case of bad luck. First Dariru went missing and now Kakuzu decided to disappear! But when he looked down at the ground he felt a smirk coming on as a clever feeling replaced the loss of hope. Imbedded in the muddy ground were Kakuzu's footprints.

Kisame straightened himself up and began to follow the water-filled prints, hoping he would catch Kakuzu in time before he did anything stupid.

---

He didn't know what it was, but something was telling him that Ishiko was nearby. It was a strange feeling, but he just went with it. If it would help him find his woman, then he'd be more than happy to follow it. The feeling only grew when he stopped in front of a three-story high hotel with a sign in front of it, indicating that there was a built-in hot spring inside.

Without thinking twice, Kakuzu stormed into the building, shoving the doors open violently. It wasn't a fancy hotel, but it wasn't run-down either. Red and gold were apparently the theme colors of the building for those were the only shades of color in the whole place. Bright lights illuminated the waiting room with a kind of calming feeling that had no effect on Kakuzu's mood. The moment he saw an employee behind a counter, he stomped over to her immediately. The woman was fairly young, but older than his Ishiko, and had her black hair tied back into a tight bun to show off her clean face. To other men she was a beautiful sight to behold, but Kakuzu didn't even bat an eyelash at her.

Before the woman could even get in her routine greeting, Kakuzu growled out, "Did two girls check in here today? They both have brown hair and brown eyes, but one's hair is longer than the other's. And I _swear,_" he pulled out a kunai knife and practically shoved it into her frightened face menacingly, "_If you say 'no', I'm going to kill everyone in here. Starting with you!_"

The woman stared at the knife with wide eyes. She could barely talk with all the fear and adrenaline running inside her, "S-s-s-se-second f-fuh-floor. Room s-s-sixty s-s-s-six."

Without a moment's hesitation, Kakuzu hurriedly went for the stairs. His long strides skipped every other step, making him get to the top faster.

---

The footprints had led Kisame to a fairly nice hotel, which apparently had a hot spring inside. It wasn't bad. He entered the building quietly and turned around to leave the moment he saw a security guard talking to a sobbing female employee. He stood out in the rain, watching the guard and employee from behind the glass door yet. _Kakuzu must have done something rash to that girl, _he said to himself.

But he didn't let this small obstacle stop him. He kept the image of the security guard in his head, made a few adjustments to the face, and used the transformation jutsu. He looked at his reflection, making sure everything looked normal. There was the basic security guard uniform looking nice and straight; his face was a normal color, but it was slightly darker than the real guard's skin. He also made the nose less defined and gave himself Dariru's eye color. Satisfied with the disguise, he marched into the hotel with his shoulders back and head held even as if he had done it everyday.

He went up to the real guard and employee and asked in a deeper, more discipline voice, "Is something wrong here?"

The girl wiped some stray tears from her face as the guard answered for her, "Some maniac with stitches threatened to kill this young lady if she didn't tell him where some girls were."

The disguised man looked at the whimpering girl with sudden interest, "Did you tell him where they were?"

She sniffled and nodded, "Y-yes."

"Where are these girls that he was looking for? Which room were they in?" he acted like he was worried, which he was, but he felt more determined now that he knew Dariru was somewhere in the building.

"Room sixty-six. Second floor." She replied.

Kisame walked away from them and ordered, "You two stay here, just in case he comes back down. I'm going up there."

---

_Sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three, _Kakuzu read the door numbers in his head as he walked quickly down the hall. Ishiko was nearby. He couldn't wait to feel her again, to hear her voice, to kiss her lips…And to finally find out why the fuck she was _here_ and not in the _base!_

_Sixty-four, sixty-five, _his heart pounded faster as he got closer to their room. When he got to room sixty-six, the door was already open. Before he could see the inside, a male body was thrown into him. He looked down at the boy and saw he had a black eye, busted lip, broken cheek, and many other wounds. The gears in Kakuzu's head began to grind furiously as he put the pieces together. This beaten boy just came from room sixty-six, the room that Ishiko was in. If he was this wounded, that meant he was an enemy. That meant he had tried to hurt his Ishiko at some point in time.

Without hesitation, Kakuzu brought the kunai he still had in his hand and raked it across the boy's throat. He gurgled on his own blood as the liquid streamed out of his skin and onto Kakuzu's hands. The man released the dead body and let it fall to the carpeted ground just as a battle-ready Dariru appeared in the doorway.

Her brown eyes went from furious to frightened the moment they saw the tall tan man. "K-Kakuzu-san!" she chirped out, her hand grabbing the door and closing it shut. A big nervous smile decorated her face as she pressed herself against the door, making sure she was in front of the knob. "What…what are you doing here?"

The man glared at her, and towered over her in an intimidating way. "I should ask you the same thing," he snarled, "Let me see her."

"Uh…" she looked about the hall nervously as if someone would help her out, "See who?"

A hand shot at her throat and lifted her off the ground. Her small hands tried to pry his large fingers open and she began to gasp for air, but the man ignored it. "_You know damn well who!_" He shook her out of pure anger and hollered, "_Now tell me she's in there!_"

Everything was beginning to blur for Dariru, she could even barely make out what Kakuzu was saying. All she knew was that he was mad and was being loud about it. If only she could breath…she needed to breath…breath…

* * *

Mad? Blame Blood Thirsty Me, she creates a whole shit load of cliffhangers. Anyway thanks for the reviews you guys! I forward them to Blood Thirsty me and we both love them! Cheeky Half-Demon your my favorite fan you know that right!?! XD

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	11. Chapter 11

I hate english. I really do. It annoys the hell out of me. But in case you guys haven't read my profile yet, I AM A PREP!! Yeah, and I still write better than half the emo bitches here on this site. I don't mean to sound so stereo typical but I've had it with all the labeling, espcially in the stories I like. I was reading a Chouji story and the chick was all 'SHUT UP YOU STUPID PREPS!!' Not all bullies are preps. Its just being bitchy with a special style. I'm not. And look what I write. Pedophilia and angst and blood and lemons. Just wanted to get that cleared up, if you have a problem with me, well, message me and I'll look over your work. I've had this happen to me before, and the people who do, I'm right, they're all jealous I write better than them. But Sakura is a bitch. Right Blood Thirsty Me?

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Right as Dariru was beginning to see stars, and Kakuzu was about to crush her windpipe, ending the life of the mutt, a force tackled Kakuzu to the ground. Kakuzu was so indulged on making the girl suffer; he didn't see the oncoming attack. And Dariru fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Kakuzu growled under the guard's weight, he was much heavier than he seemed. But a little chakra concentrated to his biceps would easily take care of that matter. Kisame, turned his disguised face ever so slightly to see his lover, her body crouched over and pressing a soft hand to her now bruising neck. Then he turned to look at the Akatsuki member gone mad. He was surprised he wasn't foaming at the mouth, but underneath a mask it was hard to tell. Kisame grunted, realizing Kakuzu was breaking free from under the two-person dog pile. He needed to make sure Dariru was safe.

The girl looked at him and her expression dropped. He could almost imagine why. She probably secretly wanted her one true love to come and save her, but instead it was merely a guard. But he would make sure she knew he would always make sure to protect her from anything. Even a raging Kakuzu. Kakuzu bucked underneath him, like a bull, and Kisame struggled to keep him down.

---

There were two reasons really Ishiko had let Dariru go at it with the boy in a brawl.

She really didn't want to risk injuring her baby with such a stupid ordeal.

She really couldn't move from the sudden pain she was feeling.

She had to drag herself to the bathroom. God. Where was an injection when she desperately needed one? There was no way she could just ride this out. She gritted her teeth as usual when she had an episode, but this was worse than usual. _Damn it all. Of all times to have an episode, good thing Dariru isn't here. God I feel like an idiot. _She wanted to puke, but her legs were trembling from the muscle spasms. She graded her face with her hands and she closed her eyes. Dementia would set in soon. She hated it when that happened. She usually forgot an alias name or what day it was. But she wasn't exactly sure how long the minor forgetfulness would last. What day was it? _Wednesday. _What alias did she use for the quarantine mission in Suna? _Ai Rei. _

She made sure to lock the door and ran the water. Her leg still trembling, she took a good handful of water and gulped it down, hoping it would douse the nausea that hit her like a tidal wave. She wasn't sure how she would deal with morning sickness _and _this at the same time. She knew she would have Dariru there to help her out, but she wasn't exactly sure how she would keep the injections a secret. Dariru seemed the type to make her stop taking the drugs she so desperately needed. She vomited.

---

Kakuzu had no time for this. But the guard was putting a surprising amount of force on him. He even tried to throw a chakra-infused punch at him, but the guard just made sure he had absolutely no room to move. The guard wedged his arm in between Kakuzu's chin and collarbone, making sure it was pressing against his windpipe. Kisame didn't want to kill him, but he wanted him to pass out; though after what he did to Dariru, he was feeling a mighty strong urge to rip his vocal chords out…

Breathing was becoming an impossible task with the guard's arm on his throat; however, he wasn't trying to kill him, not with this little force. Were they going to try to arrest him for interrogation? And where the hell was Kisame when you needed him!? At first, Kakuzu wanted to go limp, just so the guard would get off of him and then he could attack from behind. But now his left hand was free to move, and he used that to his advantage.

Chakra focused in his biceps before his fist collided into the guard's ribcage. The man on top grunted, but he kept on him. Kakuzu kept punching him in the ribs, hoping the guard would at least loosen the weight on his neck. It wasn't until he was getting ready to throw another punch that the recovered Dariru rammed her whole body into the guard. Her weight was just enough to knock him off. Kakuzu sat up and coughed a little bit as the girl and guard recollected themselves.

Kisame was surprised that his Dariru had attacked him, but then again he was still disguised as a guard. All authority figures are enemies of the Akatsuki, and Dariru was just trying to help the tan man out. She shifted her weight for an attack, but he held his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Wait! Dariru, don't!"

Her fist paused in mid-air and she looked at him in confusion, "How do you know my name?" Kisame dropped all of the concentration he had on the jutsu, there by getting rid of the disguise. Once the smoke cleared and Dariru saw the face of her blue lover, her fist dropped and she looked at him in shock and happiness. "Kisame?"

The moment Kakuzu saw the guard enveloped in smoke; he knew it was the fish man. Who else would want to keep the mutt alive that much?

The girl kept staring at the blue man. He had been the guard; he was the one who had saved her from Kakuzu's death grip. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into the crook of his neck. She never realized how much she had missed him until now. Kisame just returned the hug and sighed contently. She didn't push him away, which meant that she hadn't left the base because she was tired of him. As far as he knew, she still wanted him just as he still wanted her. He breathed in the scent that lingered in her hair, happy to be able to smell it again. There was a slight hint of sulfur, indicating that she had been in the hotel's hot spring. _It would have been fun if I could have joined her, _Kisame grinned inwardly.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes at their reunion. But the disgust slowly faded into thanks as he realized that the door to room was now unguarded. He looked back at the two, making sure they were still engrossed with one-another before opening the fine wooden door to room sixty-six.

---

Ishiko heaved again, feeling disgusted with herself and she could feel tears rimming her eyes. This was supposed to be a happy evening. But the death of her mother was dragging her down. She was pregnant, she should be happy right? She gasped and held a hand over her mouth, finally rinsing out her mouth with some water. Good, she was feeling a little better. She heard the wooden door click and she guessed it was Dariru coming back in. Was she out getting rid of the body? She still had a damp cloth and pressed it to her mouth, while looking up to greet Dariru back in. But her heart dropped to her stomach seeing it wasn't Dariru at all. But her tall lover and the most temperamental Akatsuki member. Kakuzu. What was he doing here?

"Ishiko." He breathed. All anger and frustration he felt disappeared and in its place was a sense of longing. Her hair down, now nearly reaching her shoulder like it originally was, and her wide brown eyes staring at him. All that separated him from her body at this point was a black and white kimono, a female version of what Deidara wore when he first came to join Akatsuki.

"Kakuzu?" She mumbled questioningly, and she took the damp cloth from her mouth only to cough roughly into her arm sleeve. Kakuzu rushed to her and crouched to her eyelevel, eye filled with worry for her. Was this why she left? Because she was sick? Damn it, he knew he should have made a savings account for her health care, or maybe buy a doctor to keep around helping her if these illnesses kept coming up.

"Are you alright?" He questioned softly. Ishiko didn't look at him for the longest time, and she felt a wave of nausea hit her again. Why was the room spinning?

"Why did you come here?" She shot right back before pressing the damp cloth on her mouth. Where was Dariru? A wave of worry washed over her thinking what Kakuzu might have done to her. Of course she was happy to be seeing Kakuzu again. But the after effects of the episode she had been taking its affect. Normally, she would have snuggled up to him and kissed him all over. But all she could feel was anger and frustration as well as the dose of disorientation. Anger for him not being able to be away from her for long and feeling necessary to hunt her down like she was cheating on him or something. Frustration for him having such a tight hold on her and being so close right now with the feeling of having to vomit. The disorientation was coming from the minutes of dry heaving of not taking her drugs.

"Ishiko," He brushed the side of her face with his cold hands, and she seemingly glared at him. "Are you alright?" He recognized this behavior, and he didn't like it one bit. She wasn't interested in what was before her, typical trait of the Tsuwa's. He pulled his mask down and carefully pulled her hand with the damp cloth away and kissed her, waiting for her to return it but was left confused as she pulled away only to press her face in the crook of his shoulder. He didn't rush her and placed his arms around her, feeling whole again.

"I don't know." She finally answered. Kakuzu petted her hair down and placed his chin on top of her head.

"You found out about your Mother didn't you?" He asked softly, not really wanting to delve on her Mother of all topics but he figured that was what was causing her strange behavior. She paused before answering again,

"I don't know." She said again. All suspicions were confirmed. This _was _being caused by her Mother's death. Just like when she came to him broken and hurt, she was acting how she did when they first met. But the information he really wanted was whether she was pregnant with their child or not. Or rather, this was a love-child if she was. He would have asked her, but he already knew her response at this point, she would simply repeat an 'I don't know.' So, he first had to console her.

"I'm here, Ishiko." He said softly, starting to lightly twirl her hair in his large fingers. She finally brought her own arms forward and clutched his shoulders. He loved this girl, which was one definite truth. He would not live without her, she was the one thing he waited for, for about 73 years, but it was definitely worth the wait. (Note: Ha, this reminds me of a play about California I did in grade school. Eureka… We did it, and it was really great, Eureka we found it. It was really worth the wait…) He loved the innocence she held; he loved every part of her. Inside and out. So if she was hurting. He would be sure to make it stop, just like when he offered to kill her Mother for her.

"I don't know." He stood up, the crouching starting to ache in his thighs he could hear a gasp and a kunai being drawn. Dariru and Kisame must be in now. He turned, a hand clutching Ishiko close to him and Ishiko still with her damp cloth pressed to her mouth and leaning against him. The mutt stared in shock and she gulped while taking a step, her eyes directed on to Ishiko now.

"Ishiko-chan, are you sure…?" Kakuzu had no idea what she was talking about but glared and Kisame himself wrapped a protective arm around his woman. Ishiko didn't look at her, but pulled away from Kakuzu and walked back over to the table, with Kakuzu right behind her.

"It's none of your business Dariru. Ishiko is ill right now." Kakuzu seemingly growled and Kisame was surprised. Not five minutes ago he was practically foaming at the mouth insane. Now he just seemed like an over-protective guard dog. Dariru was really worried at this point; her friend wasn't speaking at all. Did Kakuzu actually do something to cause it? Ishiko looked up at Dariru, matching brown eyes meeting and Ishiko's eyes lifted ever so slightly, showing she was trying to give a smile but it failed and Ishiko bent forward and shot up, running into the bathroom. Dariru's eyes widened in panic at her friend's sudden vomiting. Was this morning sickness?

"Ishiko!!" Both Kakuzu and Dariru yelled in alarm. Only Kakuzu paused to glare at the girl. Ishiko heaved and the sound of puke hitting toilet water echoed in the room, making Kisame wince and almost want to gag himself. But Dariru rushed to the door, beating Kakuzu and the taller man stood behind her, his eyes wide with worry.

"It's nothing." Wait. Didn't she bring an injection with her? When she and Dariru packed their belongings she could have sworn she brought an extra stored in one of her socks. Nobody would bother to look there. It was the one with the red marking on the ankle. It was risky, but she had to if she wanted to feel better. She looked up at Dariru.

"Dariru-chan. I'm feeling cold, could you feel get my socks? The one with the red markings at the ankle. And just bring them here; I'll put them on myself." Ishiko asked softly. Dariru blinked in surprise but nodded. The girl wouldn't question her on such a simple request like that, especially since Ishiko seemed sick. Dariru left to fetch the socks and Kakuzu stayed, staring at her cold eyes he recognized so many times ago.

They were Keisuke's eyes.

---

Kisame shot up as soon as he saw Dariru again, worried she may feel bad. After all she seemed to try so hard to keep Kakuzu away from Ishiko, and it was partially her job to watch after Ishiko too. And now Ishiko was sick or something.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, but Dariru ignored him and ran into one of the rooms, and digging through a tan bag and pulled out a small pair of socks, bundled up into a ball. She was about to run back and give them to Ishiko when she stopped, and squeezed the socks momentarily, but ignored it and looked at her lover.

"Yeah, Ishiko-chan just might be a little sick. She did run out into the rain… for a while too…" Dariru mumbled to herself but was cut off when Kisame bent down and gave a quick kiss to her lips. She wanted to linger on it, but she took a step and broke away. Kisame smirked at her and licked his lips and gave her a playful wink. Dariru coconsciously blushed and smiled back before walking back toward the bathroom where her friend was upchucking lunch.

* * *

I so wanna see Saw 6. I wanna see it. I wanna see it. I. WANT. TO. SEE. IT. I'm listening to the theme right now. See? Preps can like scary movies too. I got green eyeliner, also note I don't wear much make up. The only two make up products I have is one brown eyeliner and a green one. I don't like how most chicks over do it sometimes. I can't stand wearing the black one. On some peeps it looks nice, but I would never wear it myself.


	12. Chapter 12

I need to write georaphy notes and then finish up my geometery project. I have only two angles left to make but my Mommy's sleeping and I don't want to wake her up becuase of my hammering. So I might just write geography notes. God. On Canada of all things. I failed my test on America ^^ I feel so unAmerican.

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Dariru slinked around Kakuzu and handed the socks to Ishiko once the girl had finished vomiting. The rank stench of stomach acid and semi-digested food filled the bathroom. It made Dariru's nose wrinkle and stomach churn; had her mind been focused on the smell rather than her friend, then the short girl would have had to join her in the puke-fest.

"Do you need anything else?" Dariru managed to say without the fear of vomit replacing words. She didn't notice the small glare Kakuzu gave her.

Ishiko shook her head quickly and gasped, "No. No, I'll be fine. Thank you Dariru-chan." The girl clutched the socks close to her, feeling the outline of the needle resting in them. Thank god she had brought a spare. Who knew how long she would have lasted without going crazy if she hadn't? Neither Dariru nor Kakuzu moved from their spots, their worried eyes set on the trembling girl. _Right, _Ishiko coughed into her arm, _they think I'm just putting socks on…gotta get rid of them._

The girl grabbed the door and began to close it slowly, "If you'll excuse me—" But Kakuzu's hand stopped the small slab of wood from closing any further. He gave her a worried look, as if wondering if she would still be there when the door closed. Had the situation not call for her immediate attention, she would have hugged him tightly and tell him that everything would be alright. That she would still be there when the door closed. But she had to shoot herself up with the drugs; she didn't want to be like this all night.

"I have to pee," she lied to them. Dariru bought it and walked away. Kakuzu, however, lingered in the doorway. His emerald eyes were narrowed and analyzing. Ishiko prayed that he didn't catch the lie. But the man released the door and took a step back, his eyes never leaving the sick woman. Sighing to herself, the girl pushed the door closed and locked it. Immediately, she opened the socks and pulled out the already loaded needle and a band to wrap around her arm.

As she slipped one arm out of the kimono sleeve, Ishiko didn't even think about what these drugs might do to the baby. At this point, she was willing to justify her actions. If she didn't take these drugs, she could die; thereby killing her unborn child. She was doing them both a favor. Besides, is there were any side affects. The worst it could be was that her child would be addicted, and that was easily fixable by giving it to him or her but slowly weaning it off the drug. Today, she made sure to stick the needle in her upper arm so that the kimono could hide the scar. She tightened the band around her arm and waited a while until she could begin to feel her fingers tingling from the lack of blood flow. Her teeth yanked the cap off of the needle before she plunged it into a plump vein. The feeling of the liquid joining her bloodstream was always the worst part. She could feel it all going in and then running through her system; it was horrible.

As soon as the injection was gone, Ishiko pulled the device out and took off the band. She put both items in the trash can and covered them with bits of waded toilet paper. The drugs began their magic on her. The pain in her muscles wasn't as bad anymore and the room had stopped spinning. Breathing didn't seem impossible anymore and the nausea disappeared as if it had never been there. With a heavy sigh, she girl flushed the toilet before going to the sink to wash her face in cold water. The water made her feel calm and the dry cloth she used t wipe the water from her face felt so soft. She went to put her socks on and remembered who was waiting for her behind the door.

Oh, how she couldn't wait to feel him again.

When Dariru left her friend to empty her bladder in peace, she went straight to Kisame. He stood up the moment she entered the room as if expecting to hear some bad news. But the girl lay on the floor, took a deep breath, and then let it all out. It had been a long day with so many twists and turns of emotion and events. First Ishiko found out she was pregnant, then Konan told them to go to the surface so they could avoid Kakuzu. Then that red-haired guy told Ishiko her mother had committed suicide, which made her friend go into a state of depression, and was probably the main cause of her current sickness. Not only that, but some random guy decided to challenge them to a fight! Of course, it was Kakuzu who ended the challenger and almost killed her for not letting him in the room. But then Kisame saved her and now Ishiko was puking uncontrollably.

"What a day…" she grumbled, rubbing her palms over her closed eyes. Kisame comfortably rubbed her back, trying to get her to relax. She moaned lightly, almost making Kisame's blood go all south, but she turned and smiled at him. Oh God he felt so lucky to be blessed with such a girl loving him. But it may have been only a matter of time. He remembered Kakuzu being harassed because he was feeling such emotions for such a young girl, it was only natural for a girl to fall in love with him as well. But at least he wasn't such a cradle robber like Kakuzu. But he was appreciative, Dariru was still ripe and supple.

"What's got you looking so philosophical?" Dariru asked, amused and lightly smiling. Kisame smirked and lowered himself, hovering right over her lips.

"Just how hot you are."

---

Kakuzu felt his heart drop as she closed the door. For some reason she was acting… off. He could understand because of the death of that horrible mother of hers would have some sort of effect on her. And the fact she was always kept mentally stable, this must have been earth shattering. Her world was slowly cracking, and the roof was coming down first. He had no idea why, or even how. But every day, for some reason, he was being reminded of Keisuke again. Her eyes were changing into that cold, sustaining stare Keisuke always held. But Keisuke was dead. For good this time. At least he thought he was, and he was wrong before…

He shook his head. No. Keisuke was definitely dead. He died right in front of his eyes, as well as Ishiko's. His poor Uke. Her brother had died right in front of her twice. The first time was when she was ten. The second, when she was seventeen. It must have been nerve wrecking. He was surprised she wasn't dreaming about him again. Come to think of it. She hadn't had any dreams about her brother lately. She used to have them all the time. But then they started to be lovers.

He snapped out of his thought when his much younger lover finally opened the door and looked at him with a certain delicate look. She seemed better for some reason.

"Are you alright?" He asked eagerly. He really wanted to ask her, "Are you going to be my baby-mama?" but of course her health status was much more important than any parasite to her uterus. Ishiko looked at him and smiled softly before wrapping her arms around his waist. God she was so cute. Sometime if they were in a village for a mission, he'd openly tell people she was his fiancé and lover. Just to see the shock on their faces. And he knew what they were thinking, "There's so way such a girl would freely be with such a grotesque and scary man!"

"Yeah, I feel fine okay? Stop worrying over me will you? You'll get wrinkles like that." She said, lightly tracing her finger on the edge of his eyes, where some evidence of Crow's Feet was already appearing. No. Kakuzu wouldn't get wrinkles no matter how old he aged or how much he worried. So long as he kept stealing _young _hearts so their blood would mix with his. His version of a fountain of youth. (Note: Some scientists believe mixing young blood with old, materials in the young blood would help repair the old blood, making the system all together healthier and… well… younger) But he would gladly accept the cruel reality of wrinkles because it would prove his concern for her. She seemed much happier now. He didn't even care for a moment if she was pregnant or not. Because he would much rather just keep this Ishiko he had right here much more than a family.

"I wouldn't mind wrinkles, I am old anyway." If only she knew how old he really was. He heard her talking about him one time; she thought he was in his early thirties. Ishiko scowled that childish scowl of hers.

"That's because you're a man. Whatever, your older than me so what? That just means you have more experience." She brushed it off as if it was nothing and Kakuzu smirked at the thought that he had more 'experience' than she did. He knew how jealous he got over small things like that, she looked to the side and he pulled down his mask to give her a hot kiss. Though, Ishiko would call licking her tongue and lips a kiss. Just Kakuzu's own way of showing her he was hot for her at the moment. It was like a dog scratching at the door to tell its master he needed to go pee.

"You get horny at the oddest things." Ishiko complained while smiling, almost chuckling as Kakuzu playfully growled lowly. He didn't care if she were pregnant or not. His dick. Her ass. Now.

"Hey!" They both looked up to see the blue man at the entrance of the small hallway with a small blush on his face and a half angry half embarrassed look on his face.

"If you're going to get it on do it quietly! Dariru's asleep!" Kisame whispered loudly. Ishiko blushed and hid her face in Kakuzu cloak as her lover looked at Kisame like he was four and Kisame was some other kid who wanted to play with his toy shovel. Almost defiantly, Kakuzu opened his mouth wide and licked Ishiko's cheek, making the blue man wince in embarrassment. Nobody could tell Kakuzu to 'keep it down' and get away with it. He was the fucking money-maker of the Akatsuki for Christ's sake!

---

After witnessing Kakuzu slobber all over Ishiko's face, Kisame walked silently back to the room his lover had passed out in. The girl had taken an odd position on the floor: She was folded over as if preparing to take the fetal position, but only one leg was scrunched up to her chest while the other was fully extended. One hand covered the side of her face while the other hand nestled itself somewhere beneath her cheek. Her rib cage rose and fell slowly with every relaxed breath she took; she looked so calm and cute. And yet, the kimono she wore added a sort of intimacy to her as some of it was hiked up so high Kisame could have sworn he saw a bit of underwear. Had Dariru not been asleep, he would be trying the same things Kakuzu was doing to Ishiko on her. But she was, and he decided not to disturb her little slumber.

A small shiver went through her and the girl pulled herself together even tighter. Kisame frowned and walked over to her, planning on moving her to a more warm and comfortable area. He crouched down and picked her up like she was a porcelain doll, careful not to wake or drop her. A tired groan came from her throat as she turned her head to nuzzle into his collar bone. He smiled down at her as he carried her to a room with a fairly large bed in it. With some difficulty, Kisame was able to push the blankets aside and placed the on the cushioned furniture. The moment he let her go, Dariru's face contorted into discomfort. Even when he had put the blankets over he the expression did not go away. Was she having another nightmare?

Dariru groaned again and opened one eye halfway. She saw him and smiled, to which he smiled back and brushed some hair out of her face.

"Did I wake you?" Kisame asked, feeling a little guilty.

She shook her head slowly, "No." One of her hands grabbed his and lightly began tugging him towards her. "You should join me," a tired mumbled suggested. Kisame grinned as his lover began to scoot over, making room for him to join. Without another thought, he climbed into bed with her, shivering happily when the girl pressed her body against his. He let her take her usual sleeping position on him before placing a kiss on her forehead. A smile graced her lips, cuddling closer against him. It made him wish she were still awake. But nothing could be done about it now.

Kisame placed a hand on her waist, not wanting her to go anywhere without him tonight. Sleep sounded pretty nice right about now, especially since he spent most of the day worrying about the girl. But now that she was sleeping soundly beside him, he felt that he could sleep peacefully tonight. Just as he closed his eyes, he heard the sound of Ishiko's lust-filled voice, muffled by the semi-thick walls.

"Kakuzu!" she moaned loudly as a faint thumping noise began to echo from the bathroom.

Kisame stared at the ceiling with a disgusted look on his face as he began to feel the trauma start to sink in. The noises continued and he couldn't help but imagine what the stitched man was doing to the poor girl to make her scream so loud. A disgusted shiver went through his body at the image his mind conjured. _All those wrinkles…_he bit his lip to keep himself from screaming in terror. At first he tried to ignore it, but they just seemed to get louder whenever he closed his eyes or tried to fall asleep. He even grabbed a spare pillow and covered his ears with it; but to no avail. They were being so loud! Was this punishment for asking them to keep it down for Dariru's sake? He looked down at his lover, wondering if this had any effect on her slumber, but the girl was out like a burnt light bulb.

Their moans just kept getting louder, and louder, and louder, and louder…

"This must be what going insane feels like," Kisame grumbled.

* * *

I seriously almost got a nosebleed at that scene. BLOOD THIRSY ME TOOOOTALLY WROTE THAT I SWEAR!! But if she wants to play dirty I will too! You'll get what I mean in chapter 13....


	13. Chapter 13

Okay, okay. This was me this time. But yeah thanks to the people who reviewed! Me and Blood Thirsty Me greatly appreciate it!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Ishiko moaned as Kakuzu ran his hands up her thighs and grabbed her hips roughly. He propped her up against the sink and she looked to the side, not completely able to give her mind over to the sex. Probably the one disadvantage of being a spy, she was always not completely able to concentrate on the delight sensations Kakuzu gave her. Dariru was definitely asleep, so she didn't have to really worry about waking her up. The girl slept like a stone sometimes. And today was no acceptation. But Kakuzu seemed to be really going at it today. He wasn't even bothering to tease her, and every sensitive spot she had, he was abusing it as much as he could, making her louder than usual. But she already knew the reason; he was making Kisame suffer for that 'keep it down' comment. Kakuzu himself could be so juvenile at times.

"What's –Ah! Up with the sudden libido?" She asked quietly, wanting desperately to close the door. Kakuzu panted, making her gasp in shock as he trailed his tongue from her collarbone to her ear and biting it, all while pressing his hardened member to her own southern area. It was an overload. God she felt like she was going to pass out. They couldn't do this, she was pregnant. She scolded herself.

"You're so cute you know that?" He breathed and shut the door while yanking off the obi off Ishiko's bathing kimono. These betters have not cost much money, he thought briskly. She didn't answer and he took that as permission to enter her. _This is okay isn't it? _Ishiko thought as Kakuzu roughly entered her second entrance. She clutched to him for dear life and Kakuzu had to stop quickly to recollect himself. They had only started, and he was already ready to come. Her kimono, falling to the side and Ishiko panicked slightly. Would he notice? No way. The scar should be gone by now thanks to her kekkei genkai. She hardly ever got any scars. That was how she was able to hide all the scars she would have from all the injections.

"Scream my name." Kakuzu whispered huskily into her ear, and she moaned as his shook his hips ever so slightly, striking every nerve. Oh. It was get her all excited, and _then _tease. Ishiko felt like biting that smirk right off his face. Because he knew. He knew that she was in no position to refuse to do as he says. He hooks his hands in the crevices of her knees and pressed even deeper into her, not too fast that he'd hurt her, just enough to slowly build that mountain…

"Kakuzu!" That was his cue. He slammed into her steadily, making her see stars. She was moaning louder than usual, and him moaning right along with her. And after a while, there was no way they could keep it up. He came first for once, and all strength he had disappeared, making her look at him in confusion. He almost collapsed, panting and his head resting on her shoulder. _Damn it. Damn it. I'm so selfish. She should have come first. _He yelled mentally.

"I'm sorry." He said. She came, but weakly. He was failing. Ishiko, confused lifting his head to look at her but his emerald eyes avoided her chocolate gaze

"I… can't do it today." He said simply. It was just a bad day. Couples were allowed to have at least one night of bad sex right? Ishiko's gaze didn't falter.

"…What?" She asked and Kakuzu filled his lungs with a deep breathe of her scent. He couldn't say it. There was no way he would ever tell her he couldn't hold up his end of their tango. He could feel his hearts relaxing and he pulled himself out of her. She looked down nervously and tried to gather herself as well. Was it her fault?

"I'm… I'm tired. I'm sorry." He yanked his mask off completely and scratched his head, and Ishiko took a stand of his dark brown hair, darker than her own and gave it a light tug, demanding his attention. He turned and she had the most forlorn look on her face.

"Don't say 'sorry', it doesn't suit you." She said with a scolding tone. He nodded and closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against hers. Ishiko was his world after all. Whatever she said was law. He almost smirked to himself. _I probably sound like Keisuke. But it's not that hard to share his views. _

---

_Blue colors swirled in the sky, almost like different shades of blue water color paint had all fallen into a lake and intermixed. The only way Ishiko could tell she wasn't completely surrounded by water, was the white clouds breaking the pattern. She knew she had never been here before. The field was full of grass. There was no grass in Iwa, except for the occasional lawn of grass that would die after a week or so due to lack of rainfall. She looked around cautiously, as if a ninja would appear and attack her. But none came. _

"_A perfect world." A voice came out like a wail. Ishiko didn't stiffen at the tone of voice, but rather to the owner she knew projected it. The tone she loved as a child, and come to be frightened of later on in her life. Her eyes widened as she turned her head ever so slightly to see a sitting figure. His hair not pulled into a ponytail any longer, but the wavy locks flowing onto his back and on his chest. His left hand pressed to his face and a mocking smile glued to his mouth. _

"_A perfect world… could never be a reality to the living." Ishiko furrowed her eyebrows and her heart immediately raced with fear. Her brother removed the hand, and turned to face her with his eyes, not the chocolate brown similar to hers, but with the acid green eyes. Eyes that did not belong to the same brother she loved. _

"_Isn't that right? Ishi-chan?" He said in such a velvet smooth voice, but in his tone there was something that shouldn't be there when directed towards her. His tone was laced with malice. He grinned. _

Ishiko's eyes snapped open with a ghost of a jolt. She hadn't dreamt of her brother for about a year.

---

Dariru opened her eyes slowly, receiving the light coming from the window and realizing it was early morning. Everything colored a faint blue and quiet as can be. Kisame's breathe was steady and slow behind her and she lifted herself up ever so slightly, making Kisame's breathe hitch and his arm tighten around her waist, pulling her lower half closer to him. Still no sign of Konan. The only thing Dariru could think of that could possibly hold the Akatsuki Angel back was Pein. Maybe he said no. Negative worries filled her head but she still tried to think positive. Maybe she was still negotiating with him?

Kisame tugged her all the way down to the bed, pulling her closer for warmth and comfort. "You get up too early," he grumbled into her neck, still only half-asleep. "Go back to sleep." Dariru smirked a little at his remark. This was a new place, and for some reason, she always woke up early in new places. Even if she had slept like a rock the night before, there was no stopping herself from opening her eyes. Perhaps it was her body's way of making sure everything was okay? A small neon green glow caught the girl's eye, making her shift her head a little to see properly. There was an electronic clock on the nightstand, showing off that it was seven in the morning exactly. It was fairly early for her; normally she woke up at around nine, depending on how much activity she and Kisame had performed the night before. But, two hours early? Something must have been giving her senses the creeps.

But as she kept listening to her lover's steady breathing, her body decided that more sleep sounded nice. However, her mind thought of something more productive to do than sleep. _I think everyone would appreciate a little breakfast, _she thought happily. It would be a good way to start a morning, especially after some of the stress that occurred last night. But when she tried to slink out of bed, Kisame's grip just tightened possessively around her waist. The girl didn't know whether to smile or roll her eyes.

She shifted her position to face him. The man had forgotten to take off his clothes last night when she had invited him to join her, so the collar of his Akatsuki cloak was beginning to wrinkle and his most of his face. The girl placed a soft kiss on his cold headband, trying not to awaken him too suddenly, and waited for a reaction.

His face shifted in expression as he mumbled almost teasingly without opening his eyes, "Did you do something?" Dariru stifled a small giggled and began to unbutton his cloak just enough to give him a peck on the lips. That made him open his eyes slowly as if his eyelids didn't want to move. He looked really tired, almost as if he hadn't slept through most of the night. It mad her gut twist in guilt that she had bothered him.

"I'm going to get us some breakfast," Dariru whispered to him.

It seemed to take awhile for his mind to process her words and come up with an answer. "Okay," he mumbled, closing his eyes again. His grip loosened and she took the opportunity to slink out of bed, suddenly feeling cold. Apparently, he didn't like it either, for the man groaned in discomfort and pulled more blankets over to him. She smiled at his behavior and began to take the kimono off. If she was going out, she wanted to wear her regular clothes, not a fancy hotel-kimono.

At the sound of fabric hitting the floor, Kisame opened one eye. There was Dariru, standing at the foot of the bed, with the kimono off. Her back was to him, but he could just imagine that she was facing him. Had he not be running on three hours of sleep, Kisame would have gotten out of bed and start teasing her in every meaning of the word. But he just stayed in bed and watched her start to put her regular clothes on. When the girl left the room and sighed tiredly and moved over to the spot she had been sleeping in. Her warmth and scent were still embedded in the fabric. It made him imagine that she was still there with him…naked…

He grumbled and spoke aloud to himself, "I can't wait to be alone with her again."

---

Ishiko laid awake for who knows how long. Kakuzu was facing her, asleep as she expected him to be. She couldn't bring herself to touch him, even though she was so rattled by her dream. She secretly hoped Dariru was up. But she kind of liked watching the early sun hit Kakuzu. He was so tan, it made her wonder if it was natural or if he had gained it in his lifetime. His skin was at least seven times darker than her own creamy almond color, but it was so smooth as well. His long brown hair, just a bit darker than his skin. Though sometimes she would scold him about not taking care of it, for it was nearly always tangled. Not that she could really blame him, he was an S-ranked criminal, he didn't have time to stop and brush his long hair. And he was too cheap to get a simple haircut. It frustrated her at times but she knew she couldn't change him. She _wouldn't _change a single thing about him. She averted her eyes and turned to her side, trying to fall back asleep. Her eyes were begging for it. But her mind was way too restless, and she felt a need to do push ups or sit ups in order to tire her out enough to get some sleep. Especially at the activity she and Kakuzu continued last night.

"What's got you up so early?" Kakuzu murmured, shifting. Ishiko glanced back and her eyes softened. She couldn't just tell him after a year she was dreaming of Keisuke again. His eyes were still closed but he was still able to tell the anxiousness in his young lover.

"Just nerves Kakuzu-sama," Ishiko said again, and Kakuzu moved his hand to grab one of the few long strands of hair. The hair length she used to have, mostly because they were the strands her Mother didn't grab…

"We're past using 'sama', don't you think?" Kakuzu said with an amused tone. There was something up with her nerves if she was using old suffixes. She averted her eyes and she nodded, while blushing ever so slightly.

"Right." She bent down and gave him a small kiss, which Kakuzu returned eagerly.

_Keisuke's grin turned into a bloody and morbid smile. Egging her on. "Go on Ishi-chan, enjoy your time. You'll return to me eventually." _

Ishiko quickly broke away with a gasp and thrumming heart. She pressed a hand to her mouth and Kakuzu gazed at her with a confused look. She turned quickly. She couldn't face him. Not after that little episode. But why Keisuke. It's been half a year since he died. Why now? She didn't have these episodes when he first died. Maybe it was the pressure from her Mother dying. Yes, that it was it. Or maybe it was post-traumatic stress working its way because she was pregnant and it was making her emotions go haywire. That seemed plausible. As she continue walking, her only dressed in a tank top and sweat-pants (it was the only thing she could find quickly enough out of her small bag of stuff) and she could smell the aroma of scrambled eggs and sausage. She didn't care much for the eggs, but the sausage did smell good.

She poked her head around the corner and she could see Dariru carefully at work. Her movement quick and efficient at cooking. She felt if she entered too suddenly she might ruin everything. But she walked into the kitchen, smiling ever so softly, putting a hand protectively over her stomach, finally reaching the counter and within peripheral view of the shorter-haired girl.

"Morning." She smiled, Dariru looked up and smiled back while trying not to let the eggs burn. She really was interested on how Ishiko was coping. She was pregnant! And she might keep it! Kakuzu was calm and she had a god nights sleep. Everything was going great. That is, until they heard a light knock on the door. Konan? Ishiko and Dariru exchanged looks.

"I'll get it; you don't want to burn those huh?" And she left before Dariru could even utter a protest. Ishiko knew at this point it was probably Konan to deliver the news and a sense of anxiousness filled her. She didn't know what she would do if the result was no. She grabbed the knob and thrust the door open, her eyes not exactly catching what she wanted to see. It was not Konan, but a boy, not much older than herself and with medium length white hair and a purple-like outfit. He reminded her of Kisame with his razor teeth and stuck out and large sword attacked to his back. She flinched as he suddenly swung the sword, and the point was only centimeters from her face.

"Ishiko!!" Dariru's voice cried out as she witnessed the scenes and quickly set the stove off and Kakuzu –who immediately woke from his sleep at the sound of Ishiko in trouble-, appeared in a flash, rage already building.

"Who are you?" Ishiko asked calmly and the white-haired boy smiled, his razor teeth showing, Ishiko's brown eyes lowered and found a white envelope with a paper flower pinned to his shirt. Realization dawned on her and she was about to stop Dariru and Kakuzu but it was too late. The tall Akatsuki member pushed her out of the way and held a protective arm around her while grabbing the sword by the hole in it and cutting his hand in the process. Dariru was close behind him with a kunai in hand, of course not seeing the type of sword just yet.

"Don't you _**ever **_point a weapon at her again." Kakuzu growled lowly.

* * *

I always make Kakuzu like super protective. I find it cute no matter what, but Ishiko sees it as perfectly normal. I'm pretty sure y'all know who it is standing at the door.


	14. Chapter 14

It's going to be my birthday tomorrow, and I'm going to be 15. I had a family only birthday party last Saturday and I got so much money. I got Korean pictures. Make-up. It made me want to rearrange my room, so I did. And now I want a desk since I made room for it now :/

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Blood ran slowly down Kakuzu's arm as he held the giant sword in place. The young man was pressing it deeper into his palm as if challenging him, but he was having some difficulty in using the sword's power. The boy had very little control over it and it made the tan man wonder if this was really his sword.

"Calm down old man," the boy chuckled through his pointed teeth, "that attack wasn't meant for her, it was for someone else." Kakuzu glared at the boy, never releasing his hold on Ishiko or the sword. While the stranger had been distracted, Dariru stalked silently around Kakuzu to get a better shot at the boy. The sword he had looked awfully familiar…as if she had seen it in a book or something like that. The answer was at the tip of her tongue, she just knew it, but she pushed the frustration aside once she had an opening.

Dariru lunged at the boy and slashed at his arm, hoping to hit a nerve that would force him to drop of the weapon. However when the blade touched him his arm turned into water. Instead of cutting through flesh and bone, the knife cut through a small layer of water and went right through his arm. The technique stunned all three of them, but Kakuzu made sure not to let his amazement show. Was this guy a water clone?

He looked at his attacker and said, "That could've hurt me you know?" It was when he spoke that the girl saw his pointed teeth. They reminded her of Kisame and it made the girl wonder…_Is this guy related to Kisame?_ The research that she had read about Kisame told her of his parents, but it mentioned nothing about siblings. Could he be her lover's son…? After all, he had had the tendency to hire hookers before she came into his life, and not a whole lot of people have teeth like that. Jealousy and sadness began to swell inside of her. She didn't want some random whore to be the mother of her lover's child! If anyone was going to carry his seed it should be her! She loved him…

"Who's the envelope for?" Ishiko spoke up, noticing that both Kakuzu and Dariru were staring at the intruder with hostile intentions. The boy gave her a confused look before remembering the white envelope he had been given.

"Oh! Right, this thing," he pulled the giant sword away, after Kakuzu released it, and attached it to his back once more before giving the spy the envelope. "That chick with the blue hair told me to give it to you. Can't remember her name though…but she said it was important."

As Ishiko began to open Konan's message, Kakuzu growled at the boy, "Who are you and how does Konan-san know you?"

The boy grinned and replied, "I'm Hoozuki Suigetsu. And I'm new to your Akatsuki organization."

"Funny," the tan man snarled, "I've never seen you around before. You mind telling the truth?"

Suigetsu held up his hands in defense, "Keep your stitches on old-timer! I just came down from the Northern Base." Kakuzu raised an eyebrow at the comment. Hadn't Itachi gone up to the Northern Base to take care of something? Was it to greet this new guy?

Dariru was still staring at the boy, making notes in her head at the boy's body structure. He didn't look strong enough to carry a sword like that, he seemed too scrawny. Unlike Kisame, who had developed muscles over the years of ruthless training and from carrying Samehada everywhere. In fact, the only similarity between this boy and her lover was their teeth; and the fact that they both carried giant swords, but that's not genetic. No; there was no way this kid was related to him. It made Dariru calm down, but she knew she wouldn't be completely calm until she heard Kisame's side of it. After all, the boy could have gotten all of his mother's looks.

Apparently, the short-haired girl had forgotten she was looking at the white-haired boy. Suigetsu noticed her eyes on him and glanced at her. She wasn't too bad looking, it would have been nice if she had more of a bust, but Suigetsu still smiled mischievously at her. "If you keep strain' at me like that, I might think you're interested." Dariru gave him a disgusted look after he gave her a wink. The girl, literally, growled and threw the kunai knife at him. He pulled enough of the sword from its sheath to block the knife. The small weapon ricocheted off the large blade and buried itself into the ceiling.

"Careful!" he chuckled at her feeble attack. The girl was pretty violent, and he liked it. "You might hurt someone with that attitude."

The girl would have attacked the boy had Ishiko's excited squeal not distracted her. Her friend was hugging Kakuzu around his neck as she exclaimed, "We can keep it! We can keep our baby Kakuzu!" The happy soon-to-be–mother began to kiss her lover's face excitedly as he tried to read the note she had been given. It wasn't that he didn't mind her kissing him; but he wanted to know what the letter said. But when her lips caught the corner of his mouth, the man decided to ignore the letter and give his woman the attention she wanted.

Suigetsu felt like he was going to gag at the sight. He couldn't believe an ugly old man like that could have knocked up a pretty girl like her. But it didn't matter so much now, there was still another one who could try to get. However, the short-haired girl that had been staring at him before had gone to the happy couple. She had almost tackled the pregnant girl to the ground when she tried to give her a hug.

"I'm so happy for you!" the short-haired girl squealed happily. The man gave her a glare as his woman stopped kissing him to hug her friend. The scene was so full of glee that it made Suigetsu wonder what kind of organization Sasuke had dragged them into. He had been told the gang was full of dangerous S-ranked criminals; not happy, soon-to-be families.

Apparently, all of the commotion had awoken Kisame from his three and a half hour long slumber. He stood tiredly in the doorway and hollered over the excited squeals, "What the hell is everyone so happy about!?" Immediately, Dariru and Ishiko were silenced –Kakuzu stayed glaring at Dariru though- and Kisame looked at his lover, and then to Ishiko and Kakuzu, and finally to the newcomer. His eyes lit up with recognition and he smirked.

"Suigetsu Hoozuki, I take It you've really taken Zabuza's legacy." Kisame mused and took a careful step forward, and the young Swordsmen trainee stepped forward as well, smirking, and showing identical teeth. Suddenly something clicked like clockwork in Dariru's head and her eyes also sparked in realization. This guy wasn't Kisame's son at all! Relief washed over her and she suddenly felt a little ridiculous for thinking such a thing and letting it get to her like that. But this Suigetsu… he was a trainee for the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist!! She wished desperately she had her little notebook to take in details. And interest overlapped her previous disgust for the boy and she stepped in between her lover and the boy.

"You're a trainee for the Seven Swordsmen!!?" She asked excitedly. This was a huge break in her Seven Swordsmen research!! The boy lifted a curious eyebrow and exchanged looks with Kisame.

"Yeah." Suigetsu said with some pride intertwined in his voice. Dariru glowed with interest but then a rough voice coughed catching everyone's attention. Kisame was confused. Kakuzu was never one to try and get everyone attention… unless he was letting everyone know he wasn't going to pay for something or they all owe him money for something ridiculous like breathing. Suigetsu, Kisame and Dariru all turned to look at a bubbly Ishiko and calm and nonchalant Kakuzu. Kisame then remembered he had asked her a question before he and Dariru realized who Suigetsu was. Ishiko smiled brightly.

"I'm pregnant! And I'm keeping it!!" She said lifting a hand to her stomach and looking up at Kakuzu who placed a hand on her tiny shoulder. Dariru was the only one who smiled back brightly at their happiness while Suigetsu and Kisame made gagged looks.

"Don't tell me… The old man's the father?" Suigetsu asked, trying not to puke at his own words. Kakuzu didn't react, but Ishiko snapped out of her delighted look and took a more serious and offended look. Just looking at her was making Suigetsu chuckle and he tried to stifle his laughter.

"But… isn't his sperm too old to work!?!" He burst out laughing. Both Dariru and Kisame bit the inside of their mouth to keep from being murdered by Kakuzu for saying such a thing. Ishiko gasped and her hand shot up to her mouth and then her brown eyes turned to look at her tall fiancé. He merely glared and pulled Ishiko closer to himself.

"She's not running away though, is she?" Kakuzu retorted with a smug snort at the end. Suigetsu sobered almost the second Kakuzu finished and he glared a little. Damn. He had a good comeback. But knowing that the long-haired chick had a bun in the oven –a total turn-off- he turned to the shorter-haired fan girl. She seemed like one hot piece of ass. He could have fun with that. And guessing by the way Kisame subtly slinked an arm around her shoulder, she was his superior's lover. Or something close to that. Oh, that would definitely be fun. He would show Kisame up _and _get laid with a hot girl. Karma must have a thing for him.

---

"Kakuzu… you can stop going through my rice, I'm starving!" It was lunch and ever since the news broke that Ishiko was pregnant with his love-child, he wasn't risking anything. He had gone from protective to ultra-what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-you-protective. He was even searching her rice for any assassination attempts and took a small bite himself waiting to see if it was poisonous or not. If it was, he'd simply flush his circulatory system and get a new set of hearts. So it didn't really matter to him if he took in anything that was poison. Ishiko watched from the side as she watched him practically check every grain to see if it was some mini-bomb. She was hungry!

"Well, if you're so hungry, then would you like some 'milk' with your rice?" Kakuzu whispered suggestively as if he was asking if the sky was blue. Ishiko flinched on how sexual he still was; even knowing she was pregnant and turned bright red. Something she hadn't done in a while. Wasn't pregnancy supposed to be a total turn-off??

"N-No. That's the kind of behavior that got me knocked up in the first place!" Ishiko scolded. Though she knew it was in vain because he already went back to checking the rice and wasn't listening to a word she was saying.

"Kakuzu…!!" She whined. The man shot her a warning look before returning to the rice. There was no way he would let anything happen to his Ishiko or the baby. He wouldn't forgive himself if either of his precious beings got hurt. Ishiko crossed her arms and let out an angry huff. She wanted to eat now! Especially since she had someone else to feed too!

While Ishiko was giving the still analyzing Kakuzu the death glare, Dariru was busy jotting down all the information Suigetsu was giving her. The notes were being taken on a spare sheet of paper, but she didn't mind; she could always transfer it into her little brown book later. Kisame was sitting next to her, eyes fixed in an irritated glare and he picked at the rice with his chopsticks one grain at a time. The lack of sleep was putting his temper on a short fuse, and the fact that _his_ woman was busy talking to another, more handsome, man made him scream on the inside. But he kept his composure. She was only asking questions about his training life and nothing else. She wasn't asking him personal questions like what his favorite color was, or whether he was straight or gay, or even if he was single.

However, Kisame couldn't help but notice the slight interest in Suigetsu's eyes that showed every time she looked down to write words on paper. It almost made the blue man break his chopsticks because of his tightening fist. He wasn't surprised that the boy liked her, but she belonged to _him_! And if it wasn't obvious enough to the white-haired trainee, the he would make it obvious.

"So how did you come into possession of Kubikiri Houcho?" Dariru asked him, her eyes wide with curiosity. It reminded Kisame of a cat.

"I took it," Suigetsu stated simply before shoving a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

Dariru looked at him like he had spoken in a different language, "From his _grave_?" Kisame snuck a hand beneath the table and kept looking at a spot on the table as if uninterested in the conversation.

Suigetsu nodded, "Uh, yeah. It's not like he was going to use it anyway."

Her mind cringed at how disrespectful the boy was. You would have to be very low to steal from someone's grave. Just as she was going to add that piece of information to the paper, the girl felt a large hand touch her knee. Her cheeks warmed up when she realized whose hand it was. Was he starting to feel left out? She felt bad for not talking to him as much as she would have; but this Suigetsu was important to her research. Of course she wouldn't do as much "research" on him as she had done with Kisame…but even then, she didn't have sex with him just for research. She did it because she wanted to do it with him and only him.

Kisame's hand began to run up and down her thigh slowly, making her blush even brighter. She tried to act like it wasn't affecting her and cleared her throat lightly. "W-well, don't you think it's a little disrespectful to take from someone's grave?" Fingers began to brush her inner thigh, making her shiver in delight. Why couldn't he have waited to get back at the base before he started teasing her?

A shrug came from the boy, not noticing her strange behavior yet, "Eh…a little. But if I'm gonna have all seven swords then I can't let a little thing like 'disrespect' stop me." An epiphany struck Dariru at once when she heard his words. That's why he had stolen Kubikiri Houcho! Was he here to take Samehada too?

"How many swords do you have already?" she asked, now able to ignore Kisame's hand. The blue man gave her a quick glare when he realized he was no longer having any effect on her.

"Just this one," he pointed at the giant sword on his back, "but I plan on taking Samehada one day." He smiled mischievously at Kisame, who just smirked at the comment. There was no way the boy could take Samehada; he was too weak for it. Not to mention the sword would shred his hand open if he ever decided to take it.

Dariru raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Really?" She knew what Samehada would do people if it was used by someone other than Kisame. Hell, her lover wouldn't even let her near the sword because he was afraid something bad might happen to her.

"Yup," the boy kept eating his rice.

Before the girl could ask anything else, Ishiko spoke up, "Excuse me?" Dariru looked at her to see what was wrong. But her friend just smiled and asked, "Could you pass the wasabi?" The shorter-haired girl complied and watched as her pregnant friend opened the bottle and poured half of it onto her rice. Suigetsu looked at her like she was crazy, and before Kakuzu could take it away from her to examine it, Ishiko took a bite and moaned at the flavor. "Thank you," she murmured through a mouthful of rice and wasabi.

Suigetsu shook his head and went back to his own bowl just as Kisame's hand found its way between Dariru's legs. A small gasp came from her and she knew she couldn't ignore him anymore. She looked at him, trying to ignore the blush on her face and the tempting look he was giving her. "Yes, Kisame?"

The blue man stared at her for a moment before speaking, "You need to repay me." The white-haired boy kept eating his food, but listened to the conversation the two were about to have. He wanted to know how deep in a relationship these two were in if he was going to try to ruin it.

"Repay you?" she echoed, trying to keep her voice leveled as a finger began to move against her, "Wh-what for?"

"For stopping Kakuzu from choking you to death," he started.

Apparently, Ishiko heard him and slammed her chopsticks on the table. "You did _what_!?" she hollered at her tan lover.

"She wouldn't let me see you," Kakuzu mumbled as he ate his meal, "and I wouldn't stand for it."

"By _choking_ her?" Ishiko practically shrieked.

"Yes."

An irritated groan came from Ishiko before she returned to her wasabi-covered food.

Kisame continued, "And you made me worry about you when you left the base."

The shorter-haired girl lowered her head in guilt. She hadn't meant to worry him, but she had been so excited about going outside again! She should have told him where she was going before she had left with Ishiko. "I'm sorry," she replied.

Now it was Kisame's turn to feel bad. Every time she said "sorry" that meant she felt guilty. He hated it when she did that when there was no need to. With a sigh, he removed his hand from between her legs and wrapped it around her shoulders. "It's alright," he grumbled to her before kissing the side of her head. A smile appeared on her face, making the man feel better. "But you're still gonna pay for it when we get back to the base."

* * *

You know, I was talking to one of my friends, Alyssa. And I was going on about how I never really had a good boyfriend. Well I had this boyfriend, Andrew one time, and we broke up after like half a week and I was told it was becuase he went out with me for a dare. BUT THEN I find from my friend NOW that it was never a day. He seriously liked me. O^O I always thought he was such a jerk and then I find he wasn't at all. Isn't that nice news? Like 2 years later?


	15. Chapter 15

**TODAY'S MY BIIIIRTHDAAAAAY!!! WA-HOOOTTT!!!! I'm so happy! I'm gonna have a party this weekened and Neji's gonna be my male-stripper and so will Yamato!!!!!! XDDD I'm fifteen today guys!!! I loved you guys's reviews so much and today I'm gonna ask out my cruuuush!!! Wish me luck and don't worry, more chapters are coming soon!!!**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Ishiko didn't like being treated like an invalid.

Being pregnant might have been the cause of it. She had insisted on repacking her stuff, but Kakuzu had sternly told her he would do it and kept saying she shouldn't strain herself. She had to sit on the side while Kakuzu criticized her horrible packing.

"You didn't even fold this!" Kakuzu scolded as he took a spare shirt she had packed and folded it neatly. She wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed for the fact that Kakuzu had the ability to fold clothes better than her, or the fact that he knew how to fold them in general. She huffed and crossed her arms while he re-folded –or even folded- the clothes in her pack.

"Well it was dark, and Dariru and I were being rushed." Ishiko said back. Kakuzu sighed and finished folding the last piece of clothing and put it carefully in her pack. He knew the girl had always been bad at packing, but he never knew she was _this _bad. It should have been a health hazard as well as a fire hazard. He was going to say something but was cut of when Dariru poked her head in.

"We're ready when you are!" She said smiling at Ishiko especially and retreating before Kakuzu could hit her with one of his tendrils.

"Kakuzu!" Ishiko shrieked, seeing how he was trying to attack her friend. He merely looked at her with innocent emerald eyes and his tendrils returned inside his body.

"She shouldn't be rushing you in your condition." He said as if it explained everything. Ishiko lowered her eyelids and sighed tiredly. She could understand if she was aching all the time from carrying extra weight around in her abdomen, but not when anybody couldn't tell she was pregnant yet. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to tell him right away that she was pregnant. Kakuzu lifted her bag and she offered to carry it herself, but he refused to, saying something about 'It'll tire you.' Or something ridiculous like that.

"You make it sound like I have some sort of disease that'll kill me if I use any energy." Ishiko said lifting an eyebrow. Kakuzu ignored her for now. He knew he was doing the best thing or her right now. Especially with the shady-character Suigetsu around. 'Wasn't meant for her' Bullshit. Obviously the edge of that damned sword was pointed toward Ishiko, and obviously he saw who she was. There was no mistaking he was aiming for her. And he didn't trust the boy one bit, especially with Ishiko carrying their love-child. Kakuzu walked out of the room and Suigetsu smirked.

"Carrying around her luggage ne? Looks like the ferocious Kakuzu-san is just some girl's lapdog." Kisame rolled his eyes. The prodigy that carried on Zabuza's legacy was asking to die if he continued this. Kakuzu turned and narrowed his eyes and Ishiko gave Suigetsu a worried look. Dariru shook her head.

_SPLAT!! _

Suigetsu cried as his face suddenly splattered all over the wall from Kakuzu's fist crashing into his face, causing his body to fall to the ground and the rest of his head now taking the form as little droplets. Dariru had to stifle her laugh as Suigetsu tried to recollect himself. This kid was going to learn not to mess with Kakuzu or Ishiko the hard way. However, Kisame let out a chuckle as he watched the boy stand up on unbalanced legs, his hands still holding onto face as bits of blood trickled down his face.

"You'd better keep the insults to yourself if you want to keep your teeth in your mouth," Kisame suggested before walking past the boy. He couldn't wait to get back to the base and be alone with Dariru; he was already making plans for what he would do to her. Dariru gave the bleeding Suigetsu an apologetic look before following her blue lover. Normally she would have stayed behind only to look at the blood that was on his face; however, since Kisame knew that the liquid was what made her hot, he used it practically every night. It was no big deal to her now, but it still made her warm between the legs.

Ishiko glared at Kakuzu's back as he carried her stuff out of the hotel room. She hated the way he treated her like she was glass and knew that it would only get worse when the baby started to develop more. It was great to know that he cared about her and the baby, but this was too much. She wasn't going to break if she carried something! Before the group could begin their decent to the hotel's lobby, Kisame stepped in front of them and stopped them.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes and grumbled, "What is it?"

After giving the tan man a quick glare, Kisame explained, "Well, _somebody_ decided it was a good idea to threaten a hotel employee in order to find the girls." Ishiko's glare narrowed even more at Kisame's words. First he had decided to strangle his friend and now, it turns out, that he had _threatened _someone just to find her! A part of her found it flattering, but a larger part of her was annoyed by it. "And because of that," the blue man continued, "hotel security has been instructed to keep a lookout for a certain stitched fiend."

Everyone seemed to give Kakuzu glares, except for Dariru, who was staring at Kisame as realization swept over her. "Was that why you were disguised as a guard last night?"

The man nodded, "Yeah. I didn't want to get recognized as his partner."

"So," Suigetsu started, "how do we leave now?"

"Oh please," Ishiko snapped, "we're shinobi. We'll just use the transformation jutsu and walk out through the front door." Kakuzu looked at her.

"You shouldn't, I don't want you to extort yourself." Kakuzu said calmly and set a hand on her shoulder which she shrugged off like he was contagious.

"I'm still an Iwa shinobi!" She said back with malice in her voice that he hadn't heard since they first knew each other. Dariru and Kisame exchanged glances, afraid if they said anything it would only add to the fire that was building between the other couple. Kisame guessed Kakuzu had dealt with this behavior of Ishiko's before since he seemed to be so calm about her yelled at him.

"Your still young-"

"I'm 18 Kakuzu!! I'm not your 15-year old lover anymore, I'm sorry!!" Suigetsu whistled. The tall Akatsuki member was really cradle-robber if he first got with her when she was as young as _fifteen_. Kisame winced. Even he didn't go for Dariru at that young of age. She was 17. Kakuzu stared at her nonchalantly. It must be hormones that was getting to Ishiko if she was getting this hysterical over such a little thing. She was even bringing her age up; something he knew didn't bother her in the least. In fact, she told him once it was nice to have somebody indefinitely lover her when she was so young, so she didn't end up being hurt by other men in her young years. But his flustered Ishiko looked over at Suigetsu, still having a fit.

"Shut it Suigetsu-san!" Tears were starting to edge her eyes and she sniffed. Dariru silently gasped seeing her friend starting to cry. Suigetsu looked over to Kisame and the blue man only grinned, the boy was in for it now.

"Ishiko your making a big deal out of nothing just take a deep breathe and-"

"NO! I'm not! You're not the one who's pregnant Kakuzu! You're not going to have to get fat and-and give birth and be restricted to a room –and…" She drifted as she broke into tears. Dariru moved in to try and comfort her friend but Kakuzu stopped her as Ishiko started weeping while leaning on the inn wall.

"Ishiko needs me!" Dariru whispered harshly but Kakuzu shook his head. Kisame grabbed his Samehada cautiously, knowing Kakuzu was definitely going to try to attack Dariru soon. But he seemed just so calm with the whole situation it was almost frightening, even Suigetsu seemed a little rattled by how the pregnant shinobi was crying and sobbing. But Kakuzu wasn't even batting an eye.

"Ishiko's just hysterical right now. And believe me, there's no reasoning with hysterics. You'll only end up hurt in the end." Kakuzu said sternly and stood up straight again to face his sobbing lover. Dariru stood still and she realized he was right. Ishiko wouldn't listen to a thing she said, so there would be no point in even trying. It was probably to just sit it out, no matter how much her heart clenched seeing her friend cry and sob. But why would Kakuzu know such a thing? Had he dealt with this before? Against her survival instincts she grabbed the sleeve of Kakuzu's cloak, making both Kisame and Suigetsu hold their breath, waiting how the tan man would react to such a bold action. Kakuzu turned maybe half an inch to face her with a ghost of a glare.

"How do you know that?" Dariru asked and there was silence with the exception of Ishiko's continuous sobbing. Kakuzu glanced back at his lover and then back to the short-haired girl.

"Ishiko's Mother was the same way. And every time she tried to reason with the woman, Ishiko would end up hurt."

---

Dariru felt as if she discovered she was adopted. She had no idea it was like that with Ishiko. Sure she discovered Ishiko's mother was abusive, but she had no idea she was pretty much mentally-ill as well. That was a double-threat, and down right dangerous. After a while Ishiko managed to calm down and Kakuzu comforted her, agreeing with her on things she was upset about before and he was doing a very good job at it too. But they both agreed it was hormones getting the best of her and it made Kisame groan inwardly on how these hormones were making her this rash now, what effect would they have on her later on in her pregnancy. Kisame could already feel the oncoming headaches.

Kakuzu had decided to let Ishiko use a transformation jutsu, and they all changed, even Suigetsu. On the outside, they all looked like some happy family. Ishiko, a showing pregnant woman, Kakuzu, her pale –ironically- and doting husband, Dariru, Ishiko's sister and probable twin. Kisame, the brother-in-law and stuck by Dariru the whole time and his blonde hair shining. Suigetsu was the oddball out, following behind with his disguised sword and wit crossed arms. But on the inside, they were as dysfunctional as expected, seeing how they were an Akatsuki family.

* * *

It's so much fun being in the Submission's department of my creative writing publishing company. I get to break peoples dreams of being in the book and right now we're getting a whole lot of work that involves death and blood and gore and all that shit. I don't mind it don't get me wring but it's kinda like... 'death... death... death... death... oh something funny.... death... death... death... depression.... deth....' and we're booting anything with death in it right now no matter how good it is becuase simply becuase we're bored of it :/ I love my job C:


	16. Chapter 16

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!! I just got back from Trick-R'-Treating! It was so fun, it was me, Brittany, Jenny, Ashley, Jordan, Zack, and Rebecca!! We all howled at the moon, dressed like ho's and we ran from house to house and went through a haunted house twice. I freaked out though. But it was fun!!

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

The group had left the hotel without being noticed. They had been stopped once by a security guard, only to be asked if any of them had seen a tan man with stitches. All five of them said no and went on their way. They didn't drop the jutsu until they had left the village and were sure no one would see them. Ishiko noticed Dariru get closer to Kisame once the disguises were gone. It was as if the girl preferred his shark-like features rather than normal ones. Good thing there weren't many shark-people around.

Sunlight disappeared into dim lighting as the familiar walls of the Akatsuki base surrounded the five. The smell of sweat, metal, blood, and testosterone drove away the many scents the village had left behind. Dariru looked back at the darkness, wondering if she would ever see the sun again. Sure she preferred the dark hideout, but it had been nice to see the sun again after so long. Maybe she would go outside the base once a year just to pay a visit to the outside world if Kisame would let her. Ishiko breathed in the familiar scents and was ecstatic to be back. The baby would be safe here where Kakuzu would be able to get to her easily. Not to mention the stocked refrigerator in the kitchen. Normally she wouldn't be thinking about food after just eating lunch; but it was a necessity. She was going to be eating for two after all. She just hoped she wouldn't have too much excess fat after giving birth.

As soon as they all stepped into the main room, a voice cried out happily, "DARIRU-KUUUN!" A streak of black and orange zipped passed the group and tackled the short-haired girl to the ground. Tobi had the baffled girl in a tight hug, rubbing his masked face against her cheek happily. Ishiko laughed as the three men shook their heads at the boy's behavior. "Tobi's missed you so much!" he sobbed pathetically, still keeping he locked in his arms. For an idiot, he had a strong grip. "Deidara-senpai was so mean to Tobi while Dariru-kun was gone! So was Sasuke-san and Karin-chan!"

The name "Sasuke" struck interest in everyone but Suigetsu. Kisame was the one to speak up, "Sasuke? You mean Itachi-san's little brother?" If Itachi's sibling was here then there was no doubt that the Uchihas would be having a lot of man sex with each other. The blue man shuddered at the thought of those two getting it on.

"Mh-hm!" Tobi nodded his head fervently, "Sasuke-kun is meaner to Tobi than Deidara-senpai is! Sasuke-kun seems even girlier than Deidara-senpai too!"

As if on cue, a shrill female voice shrieked out, "Sasuke-kun is NOT a girl!" A girl close to Dariru and Ishiko's age stormed into the room. She had black rectangular glasses, long hair, a jacket, black shorts that were cut too high for a woman with her build, and high sandals that tried to compensate for the short shorts. She wasn't very pretty, but she wasn't hideous either. Ishiko glanced at her and immediately took a small liking to her. She smiled lightly and took a few steps too quick for Kakuzu to grab her hand and yank her back.

"Mind introducing yourself?" She asked in a polite tone. From the corner of her eye she could see an interested look from Dariru as well. Though Kakuzu seemed to not give a damn about anyone whom didn't concern him or Ishiko, and Kisame seemed to not really care either way. The red-head straightened herself and pushed up her glasses.

"My name is Karin, and _what _may I ask, is yours?" Karin asked. Ishiko blinked from the rude tone but ignored it, and also ignored the glare Kakuzu was giving Karin at the moment.

"Ishiko Tsuwa." Ishiko answered and gestured over to Dariru. The shorter-haired girl took the hint and stepped forward as well, putting a hand over her chest wearing a smile as well.

"Dariru, from the Land of Waves." Karin looked at the both of them with an analyzing look. Karin looked and Ishiko and her eyes focused on the girl's stomach before her eyes went wide for a moment. Ishiko tilted her head for a moment and Karin backed up a step.

"A-Are you p-pregnant!?" Suigetsu broke out into laughter and then a puddle of water when Kakuzu slapped him to the ground and stepped behind the Akatsuki spy while placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Karin's eyes immediately flew from Ishiko's stomach to the large hand on the girl's shoulder, her mouth gaping with shock as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Suigetsu managed to reform his head and part of his shoulder and he smirked at Karin.

"I couldn't believe it either. But the big guy scored and he knocked her up." He was smashed into water again as Kisame stomped his foot on the boy. Karin placed a hand on her mouth and Dariru could visibly see Ishiko's eyes flicker with something irreconcilable. But she simply looked down and then looked back up with a small smile.

"Yeah, I am pregnant." Ishiko said so loud a deaf person could probably hear her. But then the girl's eyes narrowed and her brown eyes burned like a fire of amber.

"But I don't like being judged, so you better wipe that look off your face." Ishiko didn't really mean to be cruel, but some rules had to be set down. Dariru looked at her friend with some new sense of pride. Even if Ishiko was in this supposed vulnerable state, she was still herself. There was nothing different, and nothing ever will change with Ishiko. Dariru smiled and looked up to see the nervous look on Karin. She nodded and Ishiko smiled back. There was an awkward silence that was happily broken by Tobi.

"That reminds Tobi! Leader wanted to see you and Kakuzu-san, Ishiko-chan!!" Tobi yelled happily just a little close to Ishiko and the tallest Akatsuki member glared at the boy and kept Ishiko close at hand, putting a protective hand over his lover. No way in hell he'll let an idiot like Tobi hurt Ishiko and their unborn child. Ishiko blinked and nodded calmly, looking up at her lover with a reassuring smile and Kakuzu knew instantly something was awry. Why was Ishiko trying to reassure him? That was his job, to make her feel better about the whole thing. Maybe she was trying to be tough again. Ishiko then looked at Dariru and the shorter-haired girl gave a small sigh and nodded, giving Ishiko her best wishes.

"Alright, thank you Tobi-san." Tobi nodded furiously, seemingly proud of his success in remembering something and Ishiko laughed at the boy's actions. The boy always made a way to made Ishiko laugh and smile, so for that, Kakuzu guessed he had to tolerate the little idiot for that. Ishiko turned on her heal and started walking, Kakuzu of course, looming over her from behind. And Dariru was left alone to deal with Suigetsu, Karin, and Kisame.

---

"Why would Leader want to see us, he already alerted us you can keep the child." Kakuzu thought aloud, hoping his younger lover would come up with a reasonable answer like she always did. But her fruitful personality proved to no avail this time.

"No idea." She said simply, and Kakuzu bent his neck to see her face. It was obvious she was distraught, and Kakuzu wanted to turn her around and hold her and kiss her. But that wasn't an option right now. So he decided to bring another thing up in its place.

"You've been having dreams about Keisuke again haven't you?" Kakuzu asked softly and an audible gasp came from Ishiko before she could block the sound with her hands. Her brown orbs wide and she stopped to look at her lover. How did he know such a thing? But it was true. The dreams she used to have when she didn't know Keisuke was actually alive were occurring again. Except these ones were different. They weren't like the memory-induced dreams like she used to have. These were new, like Keisuke was trying to create _new _memories. And that was impossible right? Keisuke was dead now. He was gone. There was no way he could possibly be creating new memories. But the brunette looked to the side and nodded slowly.

"I have no idea why. But… he's done it before Kakuzu. When Keisuke died that time, he could have easily used a jutsu to replace his body with a look-alike. He did it when he first died, what restricted him the time he died…" She drifted and Kakuzu pulled her close, pulling down his mask just enough to give her a light kiss on the edge of her lip and placed his chin on her shoulder. She shouldn't be worrying about such a thing. If Keisuke was alive, he'd protect her. If Keisuke was dead, he'd fight off Keisuke's soul. He would absolutely not let anything harm her, even if it came down to himself. He almost smirked, thinking just how similar this was to the tale of Beauty and the Beast. If he remembered correctly, the Beast was temper mental as well.

"You should have told me this earlier, you know better than that." He lectured her softly. He moved back and cupped her small face in his much larger hands. She was so adorable, and he smiled lightly.

"I'm sorry. But… when we were on the examination table in Konaha… before my heart started beating again… I could have sworn I heard someone say something to me." Kakuzu pursed his lips slightly. He didn't quite like her talking about the time he took her heart. But it was necessary, she was going to die either way, so he took her heart momentarily until they were both at a safe location. It was too late, but in the morgue her heart started to beat again, causing his to as well. But it bothered him. Just the thought of her blood coursing though his and while her body was cold was a gruesome thought indeed. Ishiko looked up and gave him a chaste kiss before pulling up his mask for him.

"Keisuke is dead Ishiko. He won't be bothering you again. Your real brother died a really long time ago, the one that died in front of you, wasn't your Keisuke." Kakuzu stood up and started walking again. Ishiko looked after him with a worried expression, and continued. He was right. Of course, he was the adult. He would always be right.

At least that's what she hoped.

---

Kisame gritted his teeth. They were in the base and he was as horny as hell, but the little idiot named Tobi was distracting his lover. Every time he gave her 'the look' and she started to head towards his room, Tobi would require something of her. Either Tobi, or the 'prodigy' Suigetsu. He was starting to get real sick of waiting; perhaps he should just start making out with her in front of the two boys? Maybe then they'll finally get the idea and go away. With every chance he got he touched her to remind the girl what she would be in for when they were finally alone. She seemed to like it, for she would try to come up with some excuse to leave Tobi and Suigetsu; however the two would always find a way to keep her with them. It was frustrating him, and it felt like he was torturing himself more than her.

"So Dariru-chan," Suigetsu started, watching as the girl tried to keep Tobi from giving himself a haircut with a kunai. Kisame just glared at the white-haired boy at the way he was looking at her. "Why do you have to watch this masked guy anyway? Isn't he old enough to take care of himself?"

Dariru managed to take the kunai from Tobi before answering, "Well, he may look old enough but his mind is still set like a child's." The masked boy tried to get the kunai back, but the girl kept maneuvering around him. It was even starting to make Tobi frustrated that she wouldn't give him back the knife. He even began to lunge at her, but she was able to move out of the way expertly.

"So he's like a little kid…but he's a part of the infamous Akatsuki organization?" Suigetsu snorted and rolled his eyes. "And for a minute I thought this place was full of dangerous people." Dariru gave the white-haired boy a small glare at his attitude. Even if he was a swordsmen trainee, she couldn't stand his rudeness to the organization. Though she was willing to admit that the organization seemed to be going a little…soft…but that didn't change the fact that all of the members could kill someone without remorse.

Tobi was still trying to get the knife from the girl, now reaching around her to get it from her back. But the masked boy was talking at the same time, "Tobi got in because Tobi is a good boy!" Suigetsu scoffed and rolled his eyes.

It was then that an idea to get Tobi and Suigetsu away from his lover struck Kisame. An evil grin took over his face as the blue man stood up and walked to the struggling girl. He snatched the kunai from her hands and spoke, "Actually…I don't think Tobi is a good boy at all."

The masked boy froze in his steps at the man's words and began to make choking noises as if he were holding back sobs. The man had to pull the girl back to keep her from going to the boy's side. Of course it caused her to bump into his arousal, making him groan to himself at the contact. He was thankful the cloak hid most of it, but at the same time he wished there weren't any clothes disabling him from taking her. A small gasp came from her and he knew she had felt his problem.

"B-but…" Tobi choked out, "Tobi is a good boy!"

"No," Kisame spoke sternly, "Tobi is a _bad_ boy." A hurt squeal came from behind the orange mask, but the blue man just continued, "Dariru-chan's been feeling very tired…but you won't let her get some sleep." Suigetsu was chuckling in the background at how pathetic the masked boy was sounding right now. He truly did have a child's mentality!

"S-so," Tobi sobbed, "Tobi is a good boy…if Tobi leaves Dariru-kun alone today?"

"Yes," Kisame grinned. His plan was working quite swell. Now to finish it up, "But if you still want to play with someone, I'm quite sure Suigetsu-san would be more than happy to play with you." Immediately the snickers stopped and Suigetsu looked at the blue man.

"_What?_" the trainee stared at the man like he was crazy. But Tobi just squealed with glee at the thought of a new playmate. He charged happily to the baffled boy, who melted into water the moment Tobi's arms were around him.

It was just what Kisame needed to lead Dariru away from the two other males. His steps were hurried, making the girl behind him almost stumble at his speed. He had to hurry; otherwise he wouldn't be able to wait until they got to his room before taking her. Of course, the moment he thought of that, he felt Dariru's steps slow as she looked behind her to look at the miserable Suigetsu and happy Tobi.

"Are you sure that wasn't too much?" she was mostly worried for Tobi than Suigetsu. After all, the masked boy had a way to push people's buttons the wrong way unintentionally. And she didn't know what the swordsmen trainee might do if he lost his temper. It was then that Kisame stopped and pushed her back against the wall. His body pressed against hers as he bent his head to kiss her lips. She melted into him and pulled him closer the moment he began to use his teeth. It felt so nice to have him so close to her again. How had she been able to live without him for a day? He gripped her leg and pulled it up to make more room for himself to get closer between her legs. A small moan came from her when he began to attack her neck with teeth and lips. She turned her head to expose more skin for him and noticed that Suigetsu was watching them while Tobi was busy trying to pull him somewhere else. The heat from her blush made her feel feverish, along with another source of heat, but it made her start to push Kisame away.

"Wait," she whispered when he gave her a confused look, "we can't do this here."

"Why not?" he spoke in between kisses to her cheek and neck. She shivered when he pressed himself against her again; her body wanted him so much that she was beginning to lose herself. "We've fucked in places worse than a hallway," he said huskily into her ear.

Dariru had to restrain herself from kissing him at the sound of his voice. "Because we have an audience this time," she motioned her head to Suigetsu. Kisame made it obvious that he was looking at the boy before returning his attention to his woman.

"Let the little bastard watch," he growled, "He needs to know that you're mine." His choice of words was shocking to Dariru. Had Suigetsu done something wrong to set her lover off like that? But she would have to save the question for later. Her blue lover picked her up, threw her over his shoulder, and carried her like a piece of luggage to his room. Dariru couldn't help but smile and laugh at how jealous he was acting; it was quite cute.

* * *

Damn I have sooo much stuff to do and I have to do it before my Mom gets pissed at me.


	17. Chapter 17

Hmm... I went to Brittany's house to do some karoke and it was definitely fun. Sorry this group of chapters was so late me and Blood Thirsty Me had a huge WB. Well the reviews are much appreciated and we both love them. Cheeky-Half Demon muts be rejoicing right now but I'd just demand her to write her own chapters for Set Me Free so I can read her stories too.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

"Did you two think I'd fix every mess you two decided to make?! Hmm?!" Pein said angrily as a quiet Ishiko and Kakuzu stood and a raving orange-haired Pein paced the room with steam practically shooting out of his nostrils. Ringed eyes looked up to meet Ishiko's and she immediately looked back down, her cheeks starting to flush. She hadn't been lectured since she failed a mission back in Iwa. At least, this time she was lectured for a cause and not some amateur mistake she didn't even do. Konan kept her eyes down as well, knowing that this was as light as Pein was going to get, and there was nothing even she could do about it to ease his anger this time. Pein took an agonizing breathe and stopped in his tracked and rubbed the un-pierced spot on the bridge of his nose anxiously.

"Ishiko, you still have your informants to gather information do you not?!" Leader demanded and it almost made Ishiko jump. Kakuzu sensed her uneasiness and rubbed her shoulder affectionately even though she was as tense as a wooden board.

"Yes Leader-sama, I do. My top informant in fact is expected to deliver the political status of Iwagakure." Ishiko offered, hoping it would lighten her possible punishment from the fearsome Akatsuki Leader.

"I do not care for that right now. You will go through with light missions and keeping the information flowing to Akatsuki, do you understand?" Pein snarled, making Konan give a light glare to her lover. Was he purposely being this cruel to the pregnant girl? She obviously was in an extremely delicate condition, if any complications were to happen to the child because of this stress he was causing, it could turn out that the child would turn out to be absolutely useless to the organization all together, and prove everything fruitless. Ishiko looked down nervously and Kakuzu glared at the man who was making his lover this frazzled.

"Can you not see the condition she is in? I say no missions for her, meeting with her informants, _maybe_, but she is obviously in no way in any good health to be on any missions-"

"ARE YOU THE LEADER OF THIS ORGANIZATION!?!" Leader screamed. Ishiko tugged on Kakuzu's cloak sleeve nervously and he shut his mouth, repressing his anger, knowing Ishiko would be upset if he broke out into a rampage in front of her.

"May I remind you, _I _am the one who decides what goes on in this organization, and I am the one who is allowing that… _thing _in Ishiko's womb grow and live. Keep that in mind before you open your mouth Kakuzu-san." Pein warned and Kakuzu could feel a rising bubble of anger erupting in his chest. But what hurt the most what he called his and Ishiko's child. He didn't think it was human. He called it a thing. But that's what he expected his child to be. No matter how cute and beautiful Ishiko was, their child would indefinitely inherit some traits of himself, and it would break the beautiful-child image. He glanced down at her to see she had her head bent down and she was wearing the face she wore when she told him she was going to visit her Mother.

"That reminds me, Ishiko-san, I must have a word with you regarding the child." Ishiko's head snapped up and she grabbed her lover's hand.

"Anything you say about our baby can be said in front of both of us." Ishiko said sternly and earned a glare from Pein. He lowered his head and gave her a stern warning, "Ishiko, don't get greedy here. You might not like what you hear." But Ishiko kept her ground, only lifting an eyebrow and Pein sighed.

"It regards to your late-grandfather." Pein said again and Ishiko stiffened subtly. Her Grandfather? What would Pein have to discuss with her that involves the Tsuchikage? Kakuzu had no idea, but he didn't like where this was going one bit. He could already sense that this discussion was going to hurt Ishiko somehow, and he wouldn't be able to fix it. Pein glanced at Konan who looked down at response, and Kakuzu knew that wasn't a good sign. He looked at her as if telling her to tell Ishiko what he wanted to tell her, but even Konan didn't want to speak about the matter. His grip on Ishiko's small hand tightened in reassurance.

"If you never became involved with the Akatsuki, what do you think would have happened to you when your Grandfather died?" Ishiko seemed taken back by the question and she blinked in surprise before she looked down in thought. Well… she didn't really know much about the politics in Iwagakure, but she struggled to remember the government… Then her eyes flashed with light and she looked up.

"Well, I'd become Tsuchikage since I have the bloodline." For the first time since the two had entered the room, Pein smiled at her and went to sit on his desk. Kakuzu could tell the pierced man was up to something just by the way he was looking at Ishiko. "That's right," the leader grinned almost demonically, "Now, who do you think would take your place as Tsuchikage when you die?" Her hand went to her stomach as the gears in her head began to piece together the man's plan. Was this the only reason why he was letting her keep the baby, because of the bloodline? "Yes," the man practically hissed, "your child will become the Tsuchikage when it's old enough and will make decisions based on the needs of the Akatsuki."

Kakuzu didn't know whether to be angry that this man had _his_ child's future mapped out, or to be impressed at his leader's plan. If the Akatsuki had one of their members placed as a Kage, they could do many things without restraint. They could even start wars if other countries refused to give up their Jinchuuriki to them.

"And what if my child doesn't _want_ to be the Tsuchikage?" Kakuzu asked, not even trying to hide the venom in his voice.

Pein's smile disappeared and narrowed his eyes, "Your spawn _will _be the Tsuchikage if it wants to live." Kakuzu clenched both of his hands into fists, but the comfort of his lover's hands rubbing his calmed the rising tension. "You will tell your child of its fate when it's old enough to comprehend words," the leader's voice became more business-like as his grey eyes locked onto Ishiko. "I don't care how you do tell it, but you will. We don't want to crush the little one's dreams of possibly being a 'good guy'. You'll also take it with you on missions when I say so, and when it's not with you, it'll be training with one of the other members."

"What about when my kid is still an infant?" Ishiko questioned innocently.

An aggravated sigh came from the orange-haired man, "Then you'll be like any-other mother. You'll take care of it when you're not on a mission. And when you are out, Dariru can take care of it."

Ishiko trusted Dariru and all, but it just didn't feel right to let her friend take care of her kid. She would prefer to take care of the baby herself; but Pein's word was law. And if she wanted to keep the baby, she had no choice but to go along with it.

"I've done some research on your bloodline, Ishiko-san, quite extensively if you ask me, call it…" The orange-haired leader struggled for a moment to think of a good word that would explain what he thought.

"Insurance, if you will. Your Grandfather had full blood homozygous and married another full-blood Tsuwa. Your Father had half that, full homozygous genes and when he married your mother, even thought she was called an outsider, she really only had the recessive genes for the Tsuwa bloodline. Your brother had a weaker kekkei genkai power than you didn't he?" Pein stopped for a moment and smirked at Ishiko's shocked face. Nobody from the outside knew that much of the Tsuwa royal family. Not many even knew that it was practically a royal family. Only the elders and the councilmen knew that. And since the family had gotten smaller and smaller throughout the generations, it had only become a myth of the Tsuwa origin. And the fact that Pein knew that Keisuke had a weaker kekkei genkai than herself, made her start to believe that he really was a god.

"Y-Yes. He showed scars but he still healed." Ishiko used her free hands and unconsciously traced the scar on her forehead. Kakuzu nodded in agreement. He had seen firsthand of the weaker bloodline trait in Keisuke, when he fought him, and before he knew of Ishiko's existence and saw Keisuke's bare body covered in scars. Pein placed his hands on his lap and smirked.

"And you carry a homozygous gene while he carried a heterozygous. So even with Kakuzu has the sperm donor, your child would have the kekkei genkai, whether homozygous or hetero." Pein explained and Ishiko nodded. Was that the only reason? If she happened to be born with the heterozygous, would it be the same? Would that have changed her child's fate? The very thought that the luck of the draw in her genetics was used to determine her child's fate made her anxious.

"Do you agree to these terms? With your very life? I don't want to have all these plans and have them go to waste if you choose to run away last minute. Keep in mind if you try that I might have to kill you." The malicious tone in the ninja's voice made Ishiko shiver and she almost saw her very reflection in his ringed, glossy eyes. Kakuzu glared daggers. He'd like to see the Leader try it. How dare he threaten such a thing like that on Ishiko? She was his universe, and this child would be the stars. He didn't know what he would do if he lost both. Though if he had to choose, he would choose Ishiko before the child no doubt. Ishiko looked down and she nodded while biting her lip. Pein smiled slightly.

"Good. You are both dismissed."

---

Ishiko knew Dariru was busy with Kisame; she didn't need to ask to know the girl wasn't getting any so she decided to give the girl some time alone with her lover. So she left with Kakuzu's company to his room. She felt like a mute and that if she said anything that her whole body would break down into tiny pieces, and her lover understood this and refrained from making her say a word. He knew of all people how much she loved and despised her village. They reached his room and Ishiko didn't waste anytime to curl up in the bed, her hair sprawled all over the pillow and Kakuzu simply closed the door and stood and watched his love. He could tell just by her eyes she was entering a melancholy, he took a few steps and sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers.

"We'll get through this, I promise." Kakuzu swore softly and pulled down his mask to kiss her lightly on the neck. She flinched and looked away, slightly hurting Kakuzu's ego.

"It's not that. It's me being pregnant. You don't mind it do you?" Ishiko looked up slightly and Kakuzu felt a little cornered. What was he supposed to say? It wasn't like he could say he did mind and he would like to have the free will to fuck his younger lover everyday for the next nine months without having to worry about the baby in her womb. Or that it would have been a little nice to have a chance to plan the pregnancy. But if he said that she would think it was her fault she got pregnant. He was the adult, he should have known if he didn't pull out when he came, and Ishiko would get pregnant. End of story.

"Of course not. If it's what you want then I'm fine with it. I'm delighted as long as you are." He said again and she sat up, looking at him straight in the eye. She grabbed him by the face and she sighed.

"I don't like that answer. Give me another one." She said pathetically. Kakuzu almost rolled his eyes, no matter what would happen. Ishiko would always be such a child. The fact she was a Tsuwa didn't help, everything before her had to be major-ly interesting or she turned the other way. He wondered what made him so interesting to her that kept her interest up all the time.

"I'm an old man, it was about time I started a family." Kakuzu said, almost smiling and Ishiko's lips had the hint of a smirk and she let out a chuckle.

"Don't say it like that. It makes you sound like a pedophile." She scolded in return, a smile still printed on her face. Kakuzu smirked this time and his hands went to her waist, pulling her closer.

"Hm… I don't like little boys. I like a certain little girl right here." Kakuzu whispered and moved his mouth dangerously close to her ears. Ishiko blushed bright red for once and her arms gripped Kakuzu's shoulders.

"I was right, you _are _demented." Kakuzu chuckled and pulled away. But Ishiko grabbed his hand, almost shocking him, and thrusted it softly onto her stomach. His emerald eyes looked at her stomach, where she forced his hand to lay and then up to meet her eyes. She had a certain pleading look and he knew immediately she was getting hormonal again.

---

Dariru let out a sigh of satisfaction and Kisame turned to smirk at her, his newly formed cut on his chest had stopped bleeding and Dariru licked some of his crimson blood of her fingers. Kisame almost groaned and he thought maybe she was ready for a round three. His muscled arm grabbed her and she let out a squeak as he pulled her close to him. There was nothing better than this. The love of his life right next to him after sex was the best feeling in the world. She didn't even make him pull out this time. He set his head on her neck and closed his eyes. It was certainly paradise. And no way in hell he'll have this stolen from him.

"I love you." Kisame sighed into Dariru's skin and he could feel the girl shiver. She turned to look at him and she moved her hands across his face, her pale skin was such a contrast to his unusual blue color. Though, as weird as a contrast it seemed, it seemed so natural. Like it was meant to be seen next to each other or something like that. It was a good moment, that is, until an annoying knock interrupted them, and Dariru jumped to get dressed while Kisame was steaming and wanting to rip apart whoever was at the door at the moment.

"Kisame quit molesting Dariru, she needs to help Ishiko right now." Kakuzu's voice came from the other side of the door and Kisame cocked an eyebrow. _Well maybe cut his stitches… _Kisame reconsidered…

"Ishiko?" Dariru's pace hurried in panic on why her pregnant friend would need her help at the moment.

"What does she need Kakuzu-san?" Dariru asked as she roughly pulled on her shirt and started on her shoes, Kisame only bothered to put on pants.

"She says she's hungry and wants you to cook for her."

* * *

Cliffhanger yet again. Me, Brittany, Jenny, Ashley, and Zack were all outside ad he ran towards the pole that has the stop side and soooo did a stripper move on it (the one where they jump on it and spin down) and I tried it but I didn't wrap my leg around it and he pretty much taught me how to do a stripper pole-dancer move. Brittany failed at it, and Jenny fell on her ass when she did it. I have to admit it's really fun but really painful on my thighs. Kudos to all pole-dancers.


	18. Chapter 18

I love Halloween. I really do. It's my favorite holiday of the year besides Christmas. But my feet and legs hurt so bad and I'm sooo tired right now.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

Dariru made her way to the kitchen once she was fully dressed. She quickly wiped away the last of Kisame's blood from the corner of her mouth with her forearm. He sure did have a lot of energy left for a man running on three hours of sleep. It made her wonder if he would always have this much energy in the future.

When she entered the kitchen there was only one other person sitting at the table besides Deidara, who seemed to have passed out in his chair. The blonde man had never been the same ever since Sasori died. She didn't know the entire details of the two artists' relationship, but she knew Deidara really admired the puppet-man. Now that he was gone, the explosive-happy man wasn't as energetic anymore. It made her feel sorry for him; especially since he was like the brother she never had.

The other person at the table looked dead-on like Itachi. Of course, this one's hair was much shorter and was spiked out in the back; not to mention he looked a few years younger too. He also lacked the two lines that trailed down from the eyes, but other than that he reminded her of the emotionless Uchiha. Was this guy related to Itachi somehow?

The raven-haired boy didn't say a word to Dariru when she gave him a quick "hello" while on her way to the pantry. She ignored his silence and began to pull out the ingredients she would need for Ishiko's strange craving. Kakuzu had told her what the girl had wanted to eat before she had left Kisame's room. The meal was…"interesting"…but surely it was because of hormones that made her friend want such a concoction.

"Okay," she sighed once the water for the ramen began to boil and the three pickles began to heat up in the microwave. "Hopefully she'll eat this…" The smell of the pickles began to seep out of the microwave. It made Dariru gag at the stench; hell, it even made the new guy get up and leave.

Deidara woke up and began to cough violently after smelling the air. "Good, lord!" he hollered through his coughs, "What in the hell is that smell!?" The microwave made a dinging noise and stopped heating the strange produce; however, Dariru didn't open the little door for fear that the stench would only worsen if it was released out in the open.

"That," she choked out as she stirred the ramen noodles in the boiling flavored water, "is what pickles smell like after being cooked for three minutes."

The blonde man gave her a disgusted look, "_Why_ are you cooking _pickles_!? I thought you hated those!"

"It's not for me!" Dariru stood in front of the microwave like a matador faces a bracing bull. "Hold your breath," she warned before taking her own advice and opened the tiny door. With haste, the girl grabbed the plate and placed it on a counter to cut up the sizzling green things into little pieces.

"Hey," Suigetsu's voice filled the suffocating kitchen air, "Tobi says there's—" apparently, the white-haired boy caught a whiff of the new odor and immediately left the kitchen. "Never mind then!"

"I'm with him," Deidara gasped before running out of the room. Dariru whimpered at the fact that she was alone now; but at least she was almost done with Ishiko's meal. The short haired girl just hoped she wouldn't have cravings like _this_ if she ever got pregnant.

Once the strange soup was in a bowl for Ishiko, Dariru got the final ingredient from the freezer and put three scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream into the hot bowl.

---

There was a knock at the door, forcing Kakuzu to leave his lover's side. He opened it and saw Dariru standing in the hall with a bowl full of Ishiko's strange dinner. The short-haired girl looked a little ill when she had to talk.

"It's done," she gasped, forcing the hot bowl into his large hands. The moment he took the meal, the girl turned tail and ran off. The tan man raised a suspicious eyebrow until the smell reached his nostrils. Had the soup not been for Ishiko, he would have thrown it out of his room. However, the criminal just walked to his waiting woman and did his best to ignore the smell. He just hoped Ishiko's cravings would stop after a while, or at least, not be _this_ bad. Even though he was picky about resources, Kakuzu was going to make Ishiko wash her mouth out three times before he kisses her again.

His lover perked up when she saw him with the bowl and eagerly accepted it when he handed it to her. She didn't even wait for her to hand her a spoon, but she used her finger to grab some of the noodles and fill her mouth with the pickle-and-ice-cream-covered pasta. But he snuck a taste, just to make sure it wasn't poisonous or anything and he almost gagged. He handed Ishiko the spoon and she was digging in like no tomorrow.

"You should try this! It's really good!!" She said in-between bites. Kakuzu wrinkled his nose at the very smell, only tolerating it because it was calming Ishiko at the moment.

"No thanks." He said. He may have not known much about pregnant women, having not stuck around at any time during the past when he's sleep with a woman and leave. But in his years he had known the very basic symptoms. Odd cravings was definitely one of them. But one thing was good about this her having odd cravings and hormonal behavior, was that she was smiling a lot more now. Her face would turn to his and the edges of her lips would curve upward into that sweet smile she used to give him before her brother died. She seemed to have gotten over her mother's death slightly. And that was all he could ever ask for from the world. As long as she was happy and content, he had no reason to be angry really. He decided to sit on a wooden stool he kept in case Ishiko was sick and he needed to be near her without interrupting her bed rest and sat next to her while she ate away.

"Dariru-chan is a very good cook you know."

"Hm-Mm."

"Are you sure you don't want some?"

"Hm-Mm."

"I have to ask Deidara-san to send a messenger bird to my informant. We have a meeting… tomorrow."

"Hm-Mm."

This continued for as long as Ishiko had the meal. But it was the most they ever talked he noticed during a meal. He knew he had seen Dariru and Kisame talk all the time to each other, mostly her asking about him and him asking about her and then situations. But he and Ishiko hardly communicated anymore. Mostly him or her lecturing each other about something and then the occasional situational talk. But their relationship had always been based off of physical means. He realized he would be sitting in the stool more and more as time passed by because it was inevitable that Ishiko's stomach would get bigger and bigger from their love-child. When the time came that she would be fully restricted to bed-rest, the small stool would become his home. Because there was no way in hell he was going anywhere when she was in such a dangerous state.

She finished the meal and she claimed to have been tired. But only he would know she was just entering a moment of melancholy. He nodded and picked up her bowl only to walk away for a moment, placing out outside the door –the mutt would get it later- and returned to his rightful spot by her spot. She laid on her side of the bed and she held her hand open for him to grab, which he did.

"I'm not sure whether I want to meet my informant tomorrow." Ishiko stated pitifully. Kakuzu lifted an eyebrow. Good. Nobody who didn't need to know shouldn't know that she was pregnant. Rumors might start spreading and people who want her dead might launch assasins at her knowing she was in no state to fight back. Cowards.

"Then don't'." Kakuzu offered back. Ishiko looked up and she was silent for a while, debating whether or not what she was even meeting this informant for.

"It's about Keisuke." She admitted.

---

Dariru sighed, finally getting normal air.

It felt like such a relief to be out of that kitchen. She really hoped Ishiko would enjoy the meal. Though, she would have to do something about the kitchen's new-found smell, but she figured she would do it later. If Hidan walked into the kitchen anytime soon, she wanted to be there to see his reaction. A head full of long blonde hair caught her attention and she finally noticed Deidara sitting on a couch. He was hunched over, staring at the ball of clay that his hands fiddled with. It had no definite shape, and from what the girl could tell, the clay was just there to give his fingers something to do while his mind wandered elsewhere. Seeing the once playful man so depressed made Dariru's heart go out to him; she couldn't stand seeing people she knew be so sad. It always made her feel like it was her fault that they were such a state, that she was supposed to do _something_ to cheer them up.

So the girl took the seat next to him and watched hi skillful fingers mold the clay into an undefined lump. He didn't say anything that opposed her company, and for a long time, he didn't say anything to her at all. Did he even know she was there? Dariru's mind sorted through all the possible statements she could say to cheer him up, but her throat refused to conjure up the energy to utter them out. But soon she just asked him the basic question.

"Aniki? Are you okay?" Immediately, his fingers stopped messing around with the grey lump and he was still. At first Dariru thought this was his way of telling her to go away, but just as she was about to leave, he spoke up.

"I…I don't know, un," Deidara's voice was barely above a whisper. His thumb pressed into the clay and he spoke like he was on the verge of tears, "It…feels like someone just ripped me in half, yeah. Sasori-danna…he was my best friend, hm. Just because we had opposing opinions on art, didn't mean we hated each other, yeah." He rubbed his cheek with a free hand and even pushed the long blonde bang out of his face. When Dariru saw the mechanical eye, she almost gasped; she had no idea that that was there! But she kept her mouth shut, and soon she didn't even notice the machine. The blonde shook his head and looked at her, with a solemn eye, "I don't know what to do one-chan, hm."

The first thing that came to her mind was to tell him to keep living. Just because Sasori wasn't here anymore, didn't mean that his teachings weren't. However, before she could give the blonde man a heart-felt speech, Suigetsu cut in to their conversation.

"So, was this guy, like, a brother to you?"

Deidara and Dariru turned to see the swordsmen trainee leaning against the back of the couch, his head resting on the top of the furniture. Deidara gave him a glare and spat out, "None of your business newbie, un! Now pull your nose out of my business, yeah, before I blow it off your face!"

The boy held his hands up in surrender and remarked, "I'm being serious! Was this guy like a brother to you?"

Again, the blonde glared, and even growled, before answering, "Yeah…"

"Well if you're so bummed out about it, then kill the bastard who killed 'im!" The boy stated as if it was the answer to every question. Dariru gave him a slightly shocked look; she was hoping that Suigetsu was going to say something less violent…guess she still had more to learn about the trainee.

"That would be cowardly, hm," Deidara mumbled.

"How so?"

"Some weak-ass woman killed Sasori-danna."

Suigetsu snorted, "Well then, this Sasori guy must not have been _that_ tough." Deidara lunged at the boy and would have inflicted some serious pain on the boy had Dariru not held him back. The last thing Pein needed to deal with after solving Ishiko's pregnancy was a fight inside of the organization.

"_What did you say you little shit!?"_ Deidara did his best to push the girl off, but she just tightened her grip and kept trying to sooth the blonde man with words to the effect of "he's not worth the trouble".

Strangely enough, it was Suigetsu' next suggestion that calmed the blonde, "_Or_, if you really wanna make the bitch suffer, you could hit her wear it hurts the most." The boy tapped at the spot where his heart was. Immediately, Deidara calmed down, and a silent understanding seemed to pass from the two males. "Chicks get really emotional over their love-life. If you take out her boyfriend, or whoever she gets wet for, then she'll be so broken that she might even kill herself." Dariru released the blonde man and was impressed with the boy's suggestion. Sure it was a cruel way to deal with someone, but in reality, that's a person's biggest weakness.

For the first time since Sasori died, Deidara laughed quite maliciously. He patted Suigetsu's shoulder and stated, "I like your way of thinking newbie, un." The blonde man stood up and nodded towards the baffled girl, "Thanks for trying to comfort me one-chan," and he made his way out of the room.

Suigetsu resumed his position on the top of the couch and looked at Dariru. "Is he seriously your brother?"

"Not biologically," she admitted, "but that's the kind of relationship we have." The boy grunted and looked at the spot Deidara had been sitting in. This was a good chance for him to try to get on her good side, but he wasn't sure how. He had always been a bit indifferent about people, but if he was going to try to steal Kisame's woman then he would have to change that about himself. Thankfully, the girl started the conversation. "Thank you for cheering him up," she gave him a smile, "when Sasori-san died, Deidara-nii-san was like a ghost. He was always so depressed…he didn't even beat Tobi for doing something stupid."

The boy smirked on the inside as he walked around the couch to sit next to her. Now he didn't feel as awkward for cutting into their conversation anymore. "Guess it's a good thing I stuck my nose in, huh?"

"Yeah. Quite honestly, you did better than what I was gonna do," she admitted.

"What, were you gonna give him some heart-felt lecture about how that dead guy would live-on in his heart? Or some other sappy-crap like that?" On the outside, the boy was smirking, on the inside he was hitting himself. Now she was going to think he was some insensitive douche; that's what women hated in a man right? At least, that's what Karin kept nagging at him for…then again, Karin wasn't much of a woman…

Instead of getting a slap across the cheek, the boy was met with a laugh, "Yeah, actually. That's pretty much what I was gonna do. Now that I think about it, it was really stupid. I mean, this is a place for criminals! The best way to cheer them up is with violence!"

A grin spread across Suigetsu's face. This was going to be easier than he thought.

* * *

I can do Thriller now. It's really fun. Man, I love Halloween!!! Man I'm so tired though. I sang, I screamed, I ran, I danced, I luaghed, I played pool, I howled at the moon. I did soo much. Best Halloween so far!


	19. Chapter 19

I just know Cheeky Half-Demon will start hating where this story plot is going on Ishiko's end XD. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist!

* * *

Chapter Nineteen

Kakuzu's gaze hardened and Ishiko wanted to look away but she knew she couldn't wiggle herself out of this one. Ishiko had known a little after she met him about Kakuzu's and her Brother's relationship. She had also known she had been the original source of Kakuzu's jealousy and envy. But ever since he had started loving her, he had ended his feelings for Keisuke and even started to hate the man and wanted nothing to do with him. It must have upset him to know Ishiko was still digging information about him.

"_What_?" Kakuzu asked, leaning toward his lover with a demanding look. Ishiko looked down and she sat up fully, fumbling with her hands nervously.

"He… He found some information. The autopsy on Keisuke was preformed in Konahagakure, and there were some suspicious-" She tried to explain but he cut her off by waving his hands in a dismissive manner.

"Ishiko, Keisuke is dead now. He _doesn't _matter now." Kakuzu tried and he took Ishiko's hands in his. But she shook her head and she wore a fierce look on her face.

"Don't tell me that! Tell me anything but that! That's bullshit!! And you know it!" Ishiko shrieked, on the verge of tears. She wasn't sure what she felt anymore. She knew she had disapproved of her brother's actions towards her and everybody else. But she had always loved her brother, and nothing was able to change that. If there was even the slightest chance that her brother was still alive, some way, somehow, she would find out and end it once and for all. Kakuzu grabbed her by the shoulders and he tried to be as gentle as she could but she squirmed and cried out.

"Ishiko, listen to me-"

"Fuck you!"

"He's dead."

"Bullshit!!"

"We're moving on."

"…No… Don't touch me." Ishiko resisted and Kakuzu knew there was no reasoning with her right now. She glared at him and got up, slamming the door behind her and Kakuzu never really realized nor remembered just how large and empty his room was without her.

---

Dariru looked at Suigetsu and noticed his eyes were very much like Deidara's. They were definably closed and thick around the edges. His grin was bright and pointy, just like her lover's, but her head turned when she heard a frustrated growl and the door slam. Oh dear God, please don't let it be Ishiko again.

"Ishiko??" Dariru shot up worriedly; mostly worried Ishiko would hurt another member rather than herself.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP ASS-LICKER!"

"YOU ARE _SO _LUCKY YOU'RE WITH KAKUZU YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!!"

"FUCK YOU! AND FUCK KAKUZU TOO!!"

"YOU ALREADY DID!!"

"NO SHIT DUMBASS YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT!?"

"YEAH YOU AND YOUR FAT ASS WALKING AROUND HERE LIKE YOUR IN FUCKING COMMAND!!"

Dariru and Suigetsu exchanged glances and quickly ran into where the loud argument was coming from and a pissed off Hidan was glaring down at a glaring Ishiko. Her small chest puffed outwards and leaning up to show her dignity. Hidan glared right back down at her, obviously pissed about something she must have done. Dariru looked around and found Kakuzu nowhere in sight but Deidara poked his head in with a surprised look at Ishiko.

"Ishiko-chan, what are you doing, un??" Deidara asked with his eyes wide in confusion and looked at Dariru for some sort of explanation, and Dariru guessed he had no idea the girl was pregnant just yet. She wanted to tell him, but she didn't, figuring Ishiko would tell him when she wanted him to find out.

"FUCK OFF DEIDARA!" Both Ishiko and Hidan hollered at the same time. The blonde scoffed at their attitude and stood his ground defiantly.

"YOU ARE SO FUCKING LUCKY HE KEPT YOU!" Hidan kept screaming at the unwavering girl, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MAN'S BEEN THROUGH BECAUSE OF _YOU_?! HE'S WILLING TO KILL HIMSELF FOR _YOU_! AND YOU ACT LIKE YOU DON'T GIVE A SHIT!"

Ishiko jabbed a finger into the Jashinist's chest, "DON'T YOU _DARE _ACCUSE ME OF NOT CARING FOR HIM!"

Hidan grabbed her finger and hissed dangerously, "Well maybe if you acted like you _cared_, then maybe I wouldn't have to!"

Dariru took a step forward to intervene just as her friend began to shake. At first she thought the shaking was coming from rage, but once she saw tears start to trickle down the spy's cheek, the short-haired girl knew it was from something else. Ishiko yanked her finger out of Hidan's hand and began to sob loudly, covering her face with her hands. At once, Dariru went to the girl and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders while Deidara stormed up to the still fuming Jashinist.

"What the hell, un!?" Deidara glared at Hidan and began another shouting-fight with him. As Ishiko kept sobbing, Dariru kept wondering where to take her. They couldn't go to Kisame's room, she wasn't sure what the blue man was doing at the moment, and they apparently couldn't go to Kakuzu either. Going to Konan's room was out of the question, they had already asked too much from the woman and Dariru didn't want to burden her anymore. The short-haired girl glanced at Suigetsu, who was watching the verbal fight with an amused smirk, and wondered if he would let them borrow his room. Though she didn't want to intrude on him, especially since he was new to the organization, but they had nowhere else to go. And all the shouting was starting to get on her last nerves…

"Suigetsu-san," Dariru called to him. The boy looked at her, slightly disappointed that he had to turn away from the fight, "do you mind if I take Ishiko-chan to your room? She really needs to be somewhere quiet right now."

Before he could answer, Karin's voice rang out above everyone else's, "COULD YOU ALL SHUT UP!? I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Dariru rubbed Ishiko's back comfortingly before leaving her side to march up to the trainee. Hidan and Deidara told Karin to shut up, but that just made the new girl shout even more about how she didn't have to listen to them. Dariru held out her hand to the confused boy and demanded in a monotone voice, "Kunai. _Now_." Without question, Suigetsu pulled a knife from his pocket and gave it to her. Without even shrinking back at Hidan's scolding and cursing, the girl stabbed the silver-haired man in the eye. He howled in pain as she yanked the knife out with the eyeball still attached to the tip.

Without even wincing, she took the eyeball off and cut the thin string that had kept the eye attached to the brain. While Deidara was laughing at the still wailing Hidan, Dariru turned to Karin and shouted, "Heads up!" and threw the small organ at the girl. Karin caught it, but once she realized what it was, a squeal of terror escaped her and she dropped Hidan's eyeball before disappearing back into her room. Suigetsu just laughed at his teammate's sudden fear. It was great to see the bitch get put in her place; especially since she kept beating him for no reason.

Dariru went back to Ishiko, who was still sobbing into her hands, and spoke to the laughing boy. "Well?"

He wiped away a stray tear, "Well what?"

"Can I take Ishiko to your room?"

"Sure, as long as you don't stab me in the eye." Dariru merely chuckled at his small comment and sudden small fear for her and she nodded, gaining a worried look as she eased Ishiko up by her shoulders and the longer-haired girl really looked like a mess. The edges of her eyes were turning red and she sniffled and started to hyperventilate. Suigetsu looked nervously at her and gestured the two girls while the others were distracted. One thing that differentiated business meetings, and shouting-fights between ninja. Both contained people in a single room, with fuming-emotions and adrenaline pumping through everyone's veins as well as rising rage and anger. But ninja's had kunai. One thing that could set everyone off was a single stray kunai and everyone might just end up killing each other. Lucky for him, he wouldn't be in the room if that were to happen.

"It's this way." Suigetsu said looking back and was even starting to get annoyed on how the pregnant girl kept sobbing and crying her eyeballs out. But it did seem wrong for that Jashinist to accuse her of not feeling anything towards that man she always hung around with and the man whom impregnated her. From what he understood, she was a spy right? And weren't spies never supposed to show their true feelings? Or fake theirs all the time? Dariru didn't bother to look up to meet his amethyst gaze, but she kept her eyes leveled and concentrated on the sobbing spy.

"Here." Suigetsu even opened the door for the two to scurry in. Once they were in Suigetsu took one last look around to make sure none of the other members were around before entering himself and closing the door behind him, and he turned to see Dariru comforting a still-sobbing Ishiko.

"What is it Ishiko-chan!?" Dariru tried again, but Ishiko only spoke in small breathes with a syllable in it.

"I-I-I d-d-do!! I-I-"

And she broke out crying again, not able to fully make words with her state. Suigetsu knew at that point there was no way Dariru would ever get anything out of the crying girl, and that she'd give up right then and there. But Dariru seemed determined to get Ishiko to calm down.

"Breathe Ishiko." Dariru said sternly and made a motion of her hand going from her mouth out into open air. Ishiko nodded and tried, but only to fail and cause even more tears to fall. Suigetsu had no idea how to get the girl to stop crying.

"D-Damn H-Ha-Harm-m-ones!" Ishiko cried out and wiped her eyes furiously. Dariru nodded in understanding and rubbed Ishiko's back trying to offer some sort of support and sympathy. Dariru had always hated seeing Ishiko cry. Ishiko to her just seemed like one of those people who seemed so hard to break. She was a spy after all. And Ishiko had told her victorious stories of when she had to go though reverse-interrogation. When she would be tortured for days to find what the Akatsuki enemies were worried about concerning Akatsuki activities and then come back without a scratch thanks to that kekkei genkai of hers. But she would never shed a tear about the torture. That insult Hidan hit her with must have struck right home if she was this broken about it. Either that or the hormones were really getting that bad.

The shorter-haired girl looked at Suigetsu who just shrugged nervously, still a little rattled by the girl's loud sobbing. But she had to be thankful. Suigetsu could have easily said no he didn't want Ishiko in his room. After all men weren't very well known for being able to handle crying women. Especially pregnant women. Dariru gave a small smile towards him before returning her attention to Ishiko.

---

Kakuzu laid on his bed, staring at the plain ceiling. Maybe he should have handled that better. Maybe he should have tried to temper her better. If she had the amazing ability to temper herself with the moods of others obviously he could do it as well. And for her as well. But he had never been the type to change in order to appease somebody else. And he knew Ishiko wouldn't speak to him so much as if he even dared to change anything about himself. She had made that clear to him so many times. She had expressed many times she loved him the way he was, and she didn't want to be the cause of it if he changed. Even so, seeing her this distressed worried him somewhat. He knew she loved Keisuke very much, in a way that was very similar but very different from her love for Kakuzu.

Right before he was killed in front of her, she had made it very clear she would always want to be with Kakuzu. That Kakuzu was the one she would love and accept no matter what. But Keisuke was a different story. Ishiko had told her brother that she loved him, in a way that was much more than her love for Kakuzu, but she made it obvious that she was angry with him. It wasn't a matter that Keisuke was her brother and that he was completely in love with her. No. His Ishiko wouldn't be bother by such single-minded matters like that. But it was his actions and the justification of it that made his forsaken from Ishiko's love.

He got up. Maybe she was calm by now.

---

"Are you feeling better Ishiko-chan?" Dariru asked, worried by the look on her friend's face now. She was seemingly staring at the ground but she didn't seem…. Right. Like she wasn't all there right now. The tears had stopped –much to Suigetsu's pleasure- and now Ishiko was just blowing her nose and cleaning up her face by the tissues Dariru was providing. There was silence for a second and Dariru almost gasped as the longer haired-girl suddenly dropped her head onto Dariru's shoulder.

"Do I really seem that detached from him?" Ishiko questioned weakly and Dariru had no idea really how to respond in a way that would make Ishiko feel better. But Suigetsu gained a weird look in his eye and stepped forward.

"I say: absolutely not." Suigetsu raised one finger to his lips and closed one eye.

"You two were so wrapped in each other I thought the Akatsuki had become a bunch of softies. And the way you stood up to Karin about you being pregnant with his kid…" He chuckled and straightened his posture. Dariru looked to see Ishiko totally convinced. She looked at him like he was talking about God. But Suigetsu seemed truly sincere about what he thought. Ishiko's eyes trailed from him to the ground and she blinked repeatedly.

"Hidan was wrong when he said you don't show that you care. You obviously do if your actually _cheerful _about having a baby with the geezer." Suigetsu scoffed. Dariru opened her mouth to protest such a remark from the boy but Ishiko beat him to the punch.

Literally.

Suigetsu's face burst into water as the pregnant woman rose and punched him with enough force that his body splashed into the rock wall. She smirked and wiped her mouth with her wrist and stood up.

"Thanks. But next time you insult Kakuzu with such a rude tone and name I will do more than punch," And she headed for the door and before Dariru could do just about anything she was gone. Dariru let out a weak laugh and looked to see the mess Ishiko had caused.

"Guess you might actually smarten up now that even a _pregnant pacifist _woman punched you."

* * *

Yeah, I'd consider Ishiko a pacifist really. Isn't what was pacifists are? Like, agaisnt violence? But yeah, I think Suigetsu's awful retarded don't you guys think? I was talking to one of my neighbors recently, and she reads this story as well. She says this story is basically a porno beuase theres a sex scene in almost every chapter. I know that much, but I think this work needs it. Thats one of the plot conflicts isn't it? That Kisame and Dariru do it all the time but something was missing, and then Suigetsu comes in yadda yadda yadda. What do you guys think? Reviews are appreciated!


	20. Chapter 20

Blood Thirsty Me has some business in some place. So the next three chapters after chapter 21 might be a little late but stick with us!

* * *

Chapter Twenty

Suigetsu scoffed at the girl's comment as a small part of him became slightly intimidated by the pregnant girl. If Ishiko was a pacifist, then he'd hate to see in a fight. Or at least, he'd hate to be on the side fighting her. Maybe the organization was full of dangerous people after all…A small sigh came from Dariru as she rubbed her eyelids soothingly. He wondered how he would be able to take her away from Kisame. After seeing the shark man practically molest her in the hallway, he knew they had a relationship of some sort. But so far he hadn't seen anything concrete about he two…maybe now would be a good time to find out.

But before he could start his little investigation, Dariru spoke up first, "Thank you very much for letting us use your room," she gave him a grateful smile. "It was just what she needed."

He shrugged and slinked his hands into his pockets, "Don't worry about it. It was nothin'." They stood in a slightly awkward silence, neither one not knowing what to do now only because they didn't know each other very well. Dariru knew she should leave, but was contemplating on whether or not to thank him again. However, Suigetsu decided to try out some small talk with her, "So…you've got a thing for Kisame-senpai?"

A barely visible blush coated her cheeks as the memory of him watching Kisame ravishing her in the hall came to mind, "Y-yeah. I do."

"I'm curious," he admitted before taking a step closer to her, "why didn't you take Ishiko-san to his room?" Immediately the girl became nervous. Why did he need to be so close? Was he going to hit on her? She didn't think of herself as "pretty" to other men, she only cared about Kisame's opinion, but was she putting out? If she was, it was completely unintentional! She had to get out of here fast before he started getting the wrong impression.

"Well, I wasn't sure if he was asleep or not." That was a true statement. After having two rounds of him pounding her mercilessly, there was a high chance that the blue man had passed out. "And if he wasn't, then I wouldn't want to burden him too much by bringing in a crying pregnant woman."

A tiny smirk graced his lips, reminding her so much of her older lover, "So you'll burden me, but not him?" Suigetsu had meant to be funny with the comment, but Dariru thought he was being serious.

"Oh! Ah, well…that is--!" She bowed her head apologetically, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to but…I didn't know where else to take her…"

"Woah! Hey, hey! I was just pullin' your leg!" He chuckled at her sudden state. It was kind of cute…but he was quite sure it would get annoying if this was an on-going thing for her.

"Oh…" she looked away in embarrassment, "Well…I'm gonna…go ahead and go."

"Alright then….see ya," he gave her a tiny wave before she left the room. The moment she was gone he mumbled aloud, "Well that was an awkward 'good-bye'."

---

The sound of Hidan's pained wailing woke Kisame from his nap. He had decided to take a nap while he was waiting for Dariru's return from the kitchen. There was still no sign of the girl in his room; was she still cooking for Ishiko? Again Hidan wailed in agony which was followed by a scolding Deidara.

"Hold still, un! It's gonna fall on the floor again, yeah, and then we'll have to clean it off!" Curiosity compelled the man to get up and see what was going on, which he did after putting on the first t-shirt his hand grabbed. At first he was expecting it was a ritual-gone-wrong. Maybe the Jashinist cut off his jewels and Deidara was trying to staple them back on. It'd be pretty gross at first, but it'd be hilarious after a while. However, he wasn't expecting to see the silver-haired man with an empty eye-socket with Deidara holding the missing organ.

"What happened here?" Kisame questioned as he watched Deidara try to re-attach the nerve chord onto the back of the eye.

But Hidan jerked his head away from the blonde to look at the towering blue man. Deidara gasped as he almost dropped the eye. "YOUR FUCKING FUCK-BITCH FUCKIN' PLUCKED MY FUCKING EYEBALL OUT AND THREW IT AT THE FUCKING NEW CUNT DOWN THE HALL! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!" Kisame's jaw clenched at the man's choice of words to describe his woman. He would have dislocated the Jashinist's jaw too had he not heard a door open, followed by the faint sound of Dariru's voice.

"I'm sure you deserved if Hidan," Kisame said half-heartedly to the moaning man before following her voice.

"FUCK YOU CHUM BUCKET!"

He ignored the man's insult and rounded the corner to see his woman emerging from a room. He didn't know which room it was until he heard Suigetsu's voice coming from it. Every muscle in his body tensed as he watched her close the boy's door shut. What was she doing in there? Did he do anything to her? Why was she in _Suigetsu's_ room of all places? The man did his best not to jump to any conclusions, but it was hard not to.

---

Ishiko walked down the halls with her eyes seemingly searching for the right door.

"Kakuzu-san?" She asked softly, opening the door to his room. Her tall lover backed up a step, giving her room to slip in.

"Have you calmed down?" He asked right back and she pressed the door shut, locking it in the process and pressing her weight against it. Kakuzu gained a confused look and lifted an eyebrow. He crouched down ever so slightly to meet her eye level and brushed her hair out of the way. Her brown eyes bore into his and he knew something was wrong again.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked once more and she nodded, suddenly wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Of course he grabbed her back and held her just as tightly against him, but he knew something was off about her. Something must have happened to make her suddenly this affectionate. Ishiko dug her face into his shoulder and Kakuzu lifted her up, carefully placing his free hand under her thighs, pressing her knees into his lower stomach.

"I love you, Kakuzu. You know that right? You know I'll always love you, more than anyone else?" Kakuzu narrowed his eyes but nodded, and set her down, but she still clung to him as if she'd never see him again. This was wrong. She was the one worshipping him now. It was supposed to be the other way around. She was his God, and his world. She shouldn't be the one bothered by how Kakuzu feels and if he was okay or not. Was he not making that obvious enough to her that he would always love her? But maybe that was the problem. She wanted to be his equivalent. He brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and the hint of her scar showed making him wince internally.

"I-"

"Ishiko-chan? Are you in there, un?" Deidara's voice came from the other side of the door and Kakuzu sighed, making Ishiko look at him worriedly.

"Answer it." He said softly. Ishiko wanted to stay, Deidara could always wait. But if Kakuzu didn't want to tell her what he wanted right now, then who was she to force him? She nodded solemnly and went to unlock and open the door to reveal a grief-stricken blonde.

"Ishiko-chan, are you alright? You've been acting strangely, since when do you pick fights with Hidan-san, un?" Deidara asked and Ishiko knew that she would have to tell him. She glanced back at Kakuzu and he seemingly knew what she was thinking at the exact same time. He nodded.

"Come inside, I think I should tell you something." Ishiko said while her eyes shifted to the side nervously.

---

Dariru sighed and ran a hand through her short hair and looked down the hall to see her blue lover. God maybe now she could get a break from all the stress this organization was causing her, but guessing by the look on his face she assumed that was not going to happen. He looked upset and even angry; had something happened to him while she was gone? The girl walked up to him with a smile on her face; a part of her felt like she shouldn't be smiling, but at the sight of the man, she just couldn't help it. Just by being around her was enough to make her smile. But instead of receiving a happy greeting, he gave her a cold stare and crossed his arms in front of his chest when she stopped in front of him. Immediately her smile disappeared into a worried frown and still he didn't say a word. He just kept staring down at her with cold eyes. What had she done wrong?

"Kisame? What's wrong?" Dariru didn't even try to hide the concern in her voice; just as he didn't try to hide the venom in his tone.

"What were you doing in Suigetsu-san's room?" he gestured his head to where she had emerged from. The girl slapped her forehead mentally as she realized what was wrong. But could he honestly et jealous _that_ easily?

"Ishiko-chan got in a fight with Hidan-san. There was too much noise going on and she needed to be somewhere quiet. So I asked Suigetsu-san if we could use his room until she calmed down and he said that we could." She looked up at him, hoping to see the anger replaced with understanding, but no such thing happened.

"Was this before or after you took Hidan's eye out?" he questioned as if it were an important part of the story.

"Um…that happened during—"

"Trying to impress Suigetsu-san, huh?" he interrupted with such a sharp accusation.

"No!" she exclaimed in disgust, "I took his eye out because he made Ishiko-chan _cry_!" Kisame's expression twitched and she knew she was beginning to get him back. "The only thing that happened in Suigetsu's room was that Ishiko cried, I comforted her, Suigetsu-san raised her spirits, and then I spoke with him for a bit." His eye twitched just slightly at the last part, "but that's all that happened!" She gave him a hurt look, and she truly was hurt on the inside. He thought she was cheating on him! Why couldn't he get it through his thick skull that she loved him? She would die for this man if meant letting him live a few seconds longer…if only he could understand that.

Kisame looked away in shame and seemed to be thinking of what to say. He did, but apparently it was still about the horrible subject. "What did you two talk about?"

An aggravated sigh came from the girl as she rubbed the side of her face. "About why I didn't take Ishiko-chan to your room instead of his."

The coldness returned to his eyes and he snapped quickly, "And why didn't you?"

"Because I didn't want to disturb you if you were asleep!" This was beginning to frustrate her. It needed to end now.

"I wouldn't have cared. I would just make you pay for it after Ishiko-san had left."

Dariru couldn't help but let a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth at the comment. It sounded like he was getting tired of this stupid argument too. The girl pushed his crossed arms down so she could wrap hers around him and snuggled her face into his chest. She would never tire of this feeling that he gave her, even if he didn't know it. No matter what happened, she would never leave him.

"I'm sorry I made you upset," she mumbled when she felt his hands return the hug. "But you need to understand that I'm not going to leave you. Not for anything or _anyone_." She stood on her tip-toes to kiss the corner of his mouth before returning her head to his chest.

"I know," Kisame lied to her, but she didn't notice. He honestly believed that she would leave him one day, she just didn't realize it yet. That's why he had gotten so upset when he saw her come out of Suigetsu's room. Over time she'll start to develop feelings for the young boy and they would leave this place together. It would kill him when they did, but he couldn't blame her for doing it. After all, he was older and looked like the one thing that frightens her out of her mind. Suigetsu is more close to her age, is definitely better looking than he was, and would become stronger and faster than he eventually. It was only a matter of time before Dariru finally realized it too…but until then, he would keep her all to himself as much as possible. And he would do his best to delay that time.

---

Deidara stared at Ishiko and Kakuzu with his jaw dropped and eyes wide. They had told the blonde the cause of Ishiko's sudden emotional stage, and so far he had taken the news better than they had expected. Kakuzu was expecting the blonde to laugh or make some obscene comment of some sort. But instead, he just stared at the two in disbelief and said nothing…of course he had been doing this for three minutes straight, and it made Ishiko think that they had broken him.

Then, signs of life began to show as his shocked expression turned into a frightened one. Deidara gave Kakuzu this look and said in a pathetic little voice, "But…I thought you said that your sperm doesn't work anymore, yeah…?" Sure the couple wanted to kill the blonde after that comment, but it was the only sign of life he was showing so far, so they restrained themselves.

"Apparently, I was wrong." Kakuzu said as the blonde held his face in his hands.

"Holy shit…" he breathed.

Ishiko furrowed her brow in confusion. "Deidara-kun?"

The blonde looked up and pointed an accusing finger at the stitched man, "There's going to be _two_ of _you_ running around now!" he shook his head solemnly, "I don't think I can live with another money-grubbin' miser running around with Ishiko-chan's face, hm…it'll be too much, un!"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes and Ishiko just giggled, her hand running over her stomach unintentionally. The thought of how the baby would turn out made her smile. What if it was a girl? Would she be like Kakuzu, but look like Ishiko? Or would it be a boy? Would he be just like Kakuzu, but with her temper? The possibilities were endless, and it made Ishiko smile even brighter.

It was then that Deidara stood up and made his way to the door. "I'll be right back, un," he announced, "I just need to warn the others that Kakuzu's spawn is on its way, hm." Of course, the blonde had left the room and closed the door just in time to avoid getting smacked on the head by a dictionary that Kakuzu had thrown at him. Ishiko went to her lover and hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go of him. He kissed her neck before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her down on his lap. The girl just rested her head on his shoulder with the most content smile he had ever seen on her face.

"I love you so much," she whispered as a tiny hand gripped his.

Kakuzu kissed her forehead as he interlaced his fingers with hers before mumbling, "I love you too."

* * *

Daaaaaawwwwww How cute.


	21. Chapter 21

**A Ribbit Away From Love:** Um. Like how?

**Cheeky Half-Demon:** Of course! It wouldn't be a good pregnancy story without it!

Thanks for y'all's reviews. We appreciate them. Make sure to send more! And here's more of Internal Conflicts!!

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One

The next day there seemed to be an uneasy tension. Konan had called for a doctor –against Kakuzu's wishes to simply kidnap a doctor, but she argued back that he would spew crap just to be released but they wouldn't know the difference- and Ishiko was happily eating yet another strange meal while Kakuzu and Deidara were discussing matters for her pregnancy and precautions and Kisame and Suigetsu were sparring just a little _too _fiercely. Dariru had tried to get them both to stop but Tobi would start to annoy the Itachi-look-alike and she would be forced to deal with him.

"We need to know how far along she is. And maybe we could get a due-date, un." Deidara argued.

"That's what the swelling belly is for." Kakuzu countered and Deidara rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe this man was going to be the father of Ishiko's baby. He was so cheap he probably wouldn't buy it a cradle. What was Ishiko thinking letting herself get impregnated by this kind of man, he was certain Keisuke taught her well enough to be weary of awful men, and Kakuzu certainly counted as that. But maybe she saw him as a good father-type figure. Besides, his dear little 'sister; whom he had known since childhood must have had a reason for choosing Kakuzu of all men. Right? That was the way she always operated. And he certainly wished this one had a reason.

"Where's Dariru-chan? I want seconds!" Ishiko interrupted the two of them and she held her bowl close and looked around. Deidara scrunched up his nose.

"Ishiko that's your third bowl of chocolate pudding with barbecue sauce, un." Deidara said with a half-cocked eyebrow. Ishiko looked at him and stuck out her tongue and left the room in search for her friend. She didn't really have in mind the fact that she was already as busy as can be. Dealing with two competing men and a child-like Akatsuki member. All she wanted was more pudding and barbecue sauce. When the pregnant girl entered the main room, where she had last seen Dariru, Kisame and Suigetsu were still sparring with each other while the shorter-haired girl pulled Tobi by the collar of his cloak away from a baffled-looking Itachi-look-a-like. She skipped happily over to Dariru and stopped when she was close enough.

"Dariru-chan?" she grinned as the shorter-haired girl looked at the two sparring males after hearing a punch impact with flesh. "Can you make me another bowl of that pudding and barbecue sauce? It's really good!"

The girl readjusted her grip on Tobi when he began to slip away, his arms out-stretched to the raven-haired boy just yards away. "Uh, yeah. Just gimme a moment to—" At that point, the two girls saw Suigetsu's fist graze across Kisame's cheek. The attack hadn't bothered Ishiko, she was too focused on when her friend would make her another bowl of that wonderful stuff, but the pressured girl practically jumped in fear. "Could you two _please_ turn down the hostility! One of you is gonna get hurt if you don't control yourselves!"

The two men didn't pause in their small fight as they both grunted out, "We'll be fine!"

Kisame twisted the boy's arm behind his back and snarled quietly into his ear, "You'd better stay away from Dariru if you don't want to loose your favorite appendage."

The boy smirked at how easily the shark man could become jealous. He'll have to make sure to use that to his advantage. "What's the matter Bruce?" he teased, "Afraid of a little competition?" The blue man would have broken the boy's arm had the younger man not dispersed into water.

Dariru would be biting her fingernails in nervousness had her hands not be occupied with keeping Tobi in place. She looked back at Ishiko and said, "I'm sorry Ishiko-chan. But the other bowl will have to wait until these two are done sparring. I'm afraid they'll kill each other if I leave."

Ishiko's eye twitched at the news and the pregnant girl glared daggers at the sparring men. Her body demanded another bowl of pudding and barbecue sauce, and god damn it, she was going to get! "HEY!" Ishiko screamed at the two men. They paused for a moment, surprised at the sudden voice, and stared at the long-haired girl. "Stop sparring already! It's getting Dariru-chan worried!" The two males exchanged questioning glances before shrugging and returned to their fight. Irritation rose within the woman, and the hormones convinced her to walk to the fight scene.

"Ishiko-chan?" Dariru shrieked in fear, "What are you doing!? Get back here!"

But the girl ignored her friend's frightened pleas and stormed up to the two men. She slinked her way between them just as Suigetsu was in the middle of throwing a punch. Kisame backed away quickly from the pregnant girl as Suigetsu's fist stopped just a hair's length from her nose. The girl was glaring at him with a hip pushed out and arms crossed. The white-haired had a terrified look on his face and his heart pounded against the walls of his chest.

"What the hell is your problem!?" the boy scolded her, "I could have broken your nose you stupid woman!" A large, tan fist collided with Suigetsu's face, and this time, the boy didn't disperse into a puddle. He groaned and cursed into the palm of his hand as he hid his broken nose. Kisame snickered at the surprise attack from Kakuzu; the prodigy's misery was making him happy.

"Don't ever insult Ishiko in such a manner again." Kakuzu warned darkly. Suigetsu gave a small glare but returned his attention to his broken nose and groaned even louder as blood seeped from the wound. Ishiko blinked and tilted her head.

"I was guessing by now that Kakuzu-san won't let anyone get away with even _almost _injuring me. Hm. I was wrong." She gave a wicked smile and whipped around to look at Dariru.

"Pudding now? Now?" Ishiko asked eagerly with a bright smile on her face. Dariru stared at her for a second and her eyes shifted to look at the snickering Kisame and moaning Suigetsu and decided that their hostility would definitely be toned down for now. She guessed it was going to be the safest time she could leave the two alone. She straightened her posture and smiled back at her longer-haired friend.

"Ah. Sure Ishiko-chan." Dariru agreed. Ishiko laughed and grabbed her friend's wrist and began to drag her to the kitchen. Kakuzu followed suit, probably even more paranoid before thanks to Suigetsu's carelessness of where his punches aimed. Dariru gave once last glance and her eyes met with Kisame's. He wore a smug look of victory and she gave him a smile which he returned with grinning with his shark-like teeth.

--

"Make sure it's not too hot, it'll burn her tongue and she doesn't have the patience right now to wait for it to cool." Dariru admired the women on those cooking shows. They cooked all day for a living, and they certainly didn't have a psycho-path to-be-father hovering over their shoulder telling them how to make it as if they could cook it themselves. Like Kakuzu was doing to her right now. Honestly, it was as if he didn't trust her to make a good meal for her friend. Dariru nodded none the less –mostly to make Kakuzu feel that he was being listened to- and continued. Ishiko was already at the table playing a paper-airplane game with Tobi. Kakuzu must have been as nervous as ever. A foreign girl cooking his pregnant fiancé's food and a childish trouble-maker in the same room as her.

"She'll be fine you know; she really can defend herself." Dariru offered, getting the barbeque sauce out. Kakuzu glanced at her for a short moment but his eyes returned to Ishiko.

"She's still only a child." Kakuzu mused and Dariru recalled Ishiko screaming at him when their relationship first began. Fifteen was a young age indeed; she could hardly remember what she herself was doing at that age. But Ishiko was 18 now, did Kakuzu not comprehend that?

"I know of her physical age, I'm talking about her mentality." Kakuzu added, seeing the look of question in Dariru's eyes. His emerald eyes glanced over at her again.

"I suppose since you are going to become her hand-maid while she is bed-stricken, you might as well know of her damaged mentality." Dariru rose in alarm and she looked at her friend. More problems? This didn't sound too good. Kakuzu shifted, obviously not comfortable discussing such things with a stranger.

"As you know, her Mother was a nut-case, you could tell just by looking at her. But that took away Ishiko's childhood. She grew up simply too fast. And as you may have heard of her family dying off…" Kakuzu drifted, not daring to mention anything about Keisuke. Keisuke was dead. He was sure of it. Ishiko's mentality was the one making it seem that Keisuke was still somehow alive. She was just going slightly mad because of her Mother's death. Nothing else. Dariru nodded in understanding and glanced again at her friend before stirring the bowl of pudding and went to the fridge to grab some more eggs. She had never met Ishiko's mother, so she wouldn't know anything about her Mother particularly looking like a maniac, but she'd seen the after effects. That was proof enough in her eyes.

"She may act like a child every now and again, but allow her that time. She needs it." Dariru looked up to find Kakuzu wasn't looking at her at all, but he was staring at his young lover. Dariru almost smiled. When she first met him he seemed like a grumpy, ruthless man. But she could easily tell the difference whenever he looked at her friend. His whole expression often times softened and she recognized the melting in his eyes she saw whenever her own Kisame stared at her.

"You know Kakuzu-san; I appreciate you telling me this." Kakuzu let out a sigh and shifted towards the doorway.

"I owe Kisame that much."

Dariru looked up in confusion but found no tan man anywhere. Owed Kisame? For what? Dariru would have dwelled a little longer on it for the pot not overflowing and she scattered to clean up the mess and save what she could of Ishiko's meal. The doctor should be here soon, and she wanted Ishiko as content as can be so her hormone levels would perhaps be eased a little. After all didn't want Ishiko to have a fit when the doctor was here.

---

"Kisame?" Dariru piped, while wrapping a bandage around his forearm. Apparently Suigetsu got him by surprise with the giant cleaver sword while Dariru was busy dealing with Ishiko and Kisame's only defense was to use his hand to block the blow. Kisame looked up at her and winced slightly as the bleeding wound was wrapped tightly in cloth. She gave a quick apology but struggled to find the words she meant to find in the first place. Should she ask such a thing? He must still be a little shocked about the question she asked days ago about the possibility of her becoming pregnant.

"Do you think… you might have a kid out there somewhere?" She asked softly. She wasn't quite sure she even wanted an answer. Kisame paused and seemingly froze. He seemed to have never really thought of it either. But then he blinked and despite his wound, he grabbed her hands into his and leaned in close.

"Even if I did, I'd only want one with you." Dariru looked up only to be met with a bruising kiss from Kisame and he nestled himself firmly on her lips. It was half true. Kisame couldn't exactly lie like that. He wasn't quite sure either, he had slept with whores in the past to relieve himself of his male needs, but he didn't exactly stick around afterwards to make sure they didn't get pregnant or anything. But they were whores. He definitely weren't their first or anything, so they'd know how not to get pregnant. Dariru was different.

He was her first. He even kept the underwear she was wearing that day –call it obsession, he calls it a souvenir- she was everything he had been surviving these battles for. She was the one girl he could make love to all day and still not get enough of her. She loved him even though he looked like the very thing she feared most. If that wasn't love he didn't know what was. After all Ishiko loves Kakuzu even though the old man may even scare himself a little when he looks in the mirror. It shouldn't be _that _surprising when Dariru tells Kisame she loves him. He pulled away and brushed a loose, short, lock of hair out of her face and searched for anything in her facial expression. But they were interrupted by a loud knocking.

"Come on, un!! The doctor's here! Ishiko-nee-chan wants Dariru-chan! Hmm!" Deidara called urgently. Dariru turned and she looked at Kisame with a pleading look. He sighed but nodded, getting up as well.

"We're coming!!" Dariru called.

"Hurry up, hmm!!" Deidara said and they both could hear his footsteps echo. Kisame bent down by his lover's ear.

"You owe me later." He whispered huskily. She nodded and continued, giving him a light and teasing pat.

---

Ishiko wore the brightest smile Dariru had ever seen and she turned her attention to the new male in the room. He was discussing something with Konan. Deidara, Kakuzu, her, Kisame, Konan, Ishiko, and the doctor all squeezed into the medium sized infirmary room that was hardly even used. It seemed a tight fit but Dariru guessed it was because nobody wanted to be near Kakuzu, so they all stood a good couple feet room him. Ishiko sat happily on the paper-covered bed and finally the doctor coughed gaining everyone's attention and a glare from Kakuzu.

"Nice to meet you all. I am Dr. Keirei." The man no older than thirty smiled and placed a hand over his heart while bowing slightly. He had light brown hair and bright blue eyes and fair skin, he looked fairly professional but Kakuzu still didn't like him. But Konan kept assuring him that this man was one of the best pregnancy doctors in the country. And Kisame didn't like it too much when he caught the blue orbs lingering a little too long on his Dariru.

"So who's the lucky Ishiko?" He asked, seemingly delighted that he was harassed to take her as a patient. But being a doctor for rape victims, incest victims, and girls with over bearing and prideful fathers, being nice no matter what was second nature to him now. The young brunette raised her hand and he gave her a kind smile and lifted her hand.

"Very good to meet you, and is the father present?" He looked back up as Kakuzu stepped forward. Keirei nodded and looked at Ishiko but glanced at the others who were looking at him as if an alien was going to pop out of his head.

"Well, I'm sorry but this is a conversation that should be between the parents and I." Deidara, Dariru, Konan, and Kisame all seemed to get the message and all reluctantly went out, Dariru leaving with a 'Tell me everything!' look, and Ishiko nodded while smiling brightly. Dr. Keirei watched them all leave and didn't turn to the couple until the door was slammed shut.

"So, can you remember the last time you had your period?" Keirei asked tilting his head slightly and Ishiko shook her head while smiling sheepishly. Keirei nodded in understanding.

"Alright then, I might have to draw some blood. But we'll find out as much as we can about your baby." His smile was more reassuring then his tone. Kakuzu couldn't make it clear enough. He really didn't like him.

* * *

I feel jittery. Even though I just woke up. But I was majorly sick yesterday and I feel better today.


	22. Chapter 22

Oh my God! Fer some reason or another, these three chapters were so fun to write! Kudos to Blood Thirsty Me for sticking with me this far! I'm really surprised myself! But I've been getting in some trouble lately, like, my parents found out I have some missing assignments and they have no idea why, and they keep saying that there's no reason I should have any missing work, so they're on my back about that... Oh! I ran a mile today and my knees hurt like hell for some reason. -drinks cup of milk-

* * *

Chapter 22

The doctor took blood from Ishiko first, saying that it would take a while for the results to come in, and in the meantime they could start some of the other tests. Kakuzu glared angrily at the doctor as the needle pierced his lover's flawless skin, but it didn't seem to bother Ishiko one bit. In fact, she didn't show any signs of discomfort even when her blood began to fill the small syringe. Doctor Keirei pulled the needle out and placed a small cloth over the barely visible hole to stop the bleeding. The girl held the cloth in place as the man took the syringe over to a desk littered with dust and medical equipment. Kakuzu gave the girl an "Are you okay" look, to which she nodded in response. He grumbled and crossed his arms. What did that doctor need her blood for? Surely there was very little use her blood could provide for a situation like this. But the stitched man kept quiet, knowing that if he said anything to disrupt the doctor's work, Ishiko would get upset; and in her hormonal stage, that could be a _very_ bad thing.

"Okay," Doctor Keirei breathed as he returned to his beaming patient, "we'll let that settle for a while. But in the meantime, could you please answer a few questions?"

"Sure!" The girl nodded with enthusiasm. Kakuzu had no idea she was so happy about having a baby. Or was it just the hormones making her act this way? Either, he was grateful she was in such a good mood. It made him happy that she was happy, and it would certainly make this procedure go along quicker.

The doctor grabbed a clipboard, which had a piece of paper attached to it, and a pen before he sat down on a stool. With a click of the pen, the man began to ask the basic questions with a smile on his face. "Okay…when did you first discover that you might be pregnant?"

"Just a couple of days ago," the girl answered obediently.

The pen scratched against the paper quickly. "And do you think you've had a menstrual cycle a month before this discovery?"

The girl furrowed her brow in thought, unable to see the annoyed look her lover was giving the blue-eyed doctor. She had just told him that she couldn't remember the last time she had had her period! What made that doctor think that she could answer that question?

"I can't say for sure," she replied honestly, "but I do remember, at one point, that it was more…spotting, or something like that."

The doctor's eyes went a little wide at the new information and copied it on paper. "Alright. Do you remember how long ago that was?"

"I guess," she shrugged, "about…two months ago? I'm not too sure."

The doctor wrote on his paper again. "Have you been having any cravings?"

Kakuzu scoffed at the question and Ishiko giggled. "Yeah I have!"

"What about morning sickness? Having that yet?"

She shook her head, "Nope."

"Hm…" he made a quick little scribble with the pen and asked, "Do your breasts feel tender at all?"

Kakuzu snapped at the doctor and hollered, "Excuse me?!" Ishiko just rolled her eyes at her lover's outburst and ignored the small blush on her cheeks.

Doctor Keirei smiled at the stitched man, but failed to hide the fear in his eyes, "It's a sign of her pregnancy. See, a woman's breasts may become tender or swollen because it's beginning to store milk for the baby." An inquisitive thought went through Kakuzu's mind at that moment. If that was happening to Ishiko's boobs, then would milk come out of them if they had sex during her pregnancy? The stitched man didn't know if he should be disgusted or turned on by the thought, but for now he did his best to push the thought aside.

However, Ishiko was staring at her chest. They were a little bigger, not by much, but still they had grown a bit. She lifted a finger and poked the side of one boob to see if it felt painful. There was a small, dull pain, one that she could easily ignore, but it was there. She looked at the doctor and said, "Yeah. They're starting to feel some pain." Her blunt method of finding out made both men look away for a moment.

"And you've taken pregnancy tests to find out if you're pregnant or not?" he asked.

"Yup. It said that I was positive for a baby." The girl seemed to glow with pride when she spoke those words. It made Kakuzu feel relieved that she was perfectly fine with bearing his child. He just wished he could be just as happy about the baby as she was. He was glad that she was the one to have his kid, but he didn't know if he was ready to be a father. But there was nothing to be done about it now; he would just stick by her side as long as she wanted him to.

"Alrighty," the doctor showed off a happy smile, "it seems like you're about a month and a half into your pregnancy. Maybe even two months in."

"_Maybe?_" Kakuzu echoed in disbelief, "You're the doctor, aren't you supposed to give us a _definite_ answer?" Ishiko shot the tan man a small warning glare, but the man ignored it.

"Well, yes," the doctor admitted, "but since she can only give me a guess with her spotting, then all I can give you back is an educated guess." Ishiko looked up at Kakuzu guiltily, ashamed she hasn't kept better track of her own bodily functions. But Kakuzu looked back at her and then glared at the supposed best doctor in the country. Keirei sighed and wrote on his paper, and then looked back up.

"The blood work can tell us an estimated check based on the hormone levels. But based on your answer you're in your first trimester, if you haven't started your morning sickness you definitely will soon." He looked back to Kakuzu.

"Is that definite enough for you?" He asked and Kakuzu heard something snap in his head. The damn doctor was mocking him now!! He moved forward too literally rip that smile off his face but Ishiko suddenly turned her head towards the door.

"You guys are such amateurs at spying." She said calmly and Kakuzu looked at the door with a glare. Great. Now everyone knew that Ishiko's breasts were tender with milk. God he was right, it was a turn-on thought. The door fell open and Deidara, Dariru, Kisame, and even Suigetsu fell onto the ground, creating an awkward dog-pile, with poor Deidara at the very bottom. Both Kisame and Suigetsu rose up first, glaring at each other and getting close like two feral dogs getting ready to fight.

"You dumb-ass! Told you she'll know!" Kisame said first.

"Well she wouldn't if you would've just stayed still and quit elbowing me!!" Suigetsu countered.

"I wouldn't have elbowed you if you wouldn't have kept squeezing yourself between me and Dariru!!" Kisame bellowed and Ishiko winced from the loud noise, causing Kakuzu to go full-on protective. Dariru cried out in shock when Kakuzu launched himself towards Suigetsu and Kisame, and he grabbed them both by their throats and lifted them up, his biceps bulging and the sound of ragged breathes took over.

"Ishiko-chan!" Dariru said, looking to Ishiko to see what she would do about her lover acting so violent. She looked at Kakuzu and decided she had to do something. She couldn't rely of Ishiko's actions whenever Kakuzu went feral. She had to do something. She was still a ninja after all. Dariru lowered her head and ran towards Kakuzu, ducking when his threads shot out, aiming for her throat, and lifted her leg up, directly hitting Kakuzu in the stomach, bur cried out when her foot hit something that felt like stone. And before she could successfully use a substitution jutsu she had been taught to use in a situation such as this, a thread grabbed her ankle and yanked her up in the air, her shirt dropping and she squeaked and pulled it back up, not even daring to look at the sparkle in Suigetsu's eye.

"Dariru-chan, un!" Deidara cried, rubbing his head.

"Kakuzu." Everyone went silent and Kakuzu's skin turned from extremely dark brown back to the dark tan it normally was.

"Outside. Now." Ishiko said with a small glare and Kakuzu looked at her with a surprised look. Keirei coughed nervously and the brunette flashed him a smile, thanking him for his services and she walked out, waving to Deidara and Dariru. Kakuzu looked back to the two in his hands.

"Spy again and I'll get you somewhere where Ishiko can't see." He dropped the two of them, and let go of Dariru who immediately went to Kisame's side, trying to get a good look at his throat to see the damage Kakuzu had caused. And then turned back, concerned for Ishiko. But the hacking that was coming from her blue lover, it was causing a worry line to form on her forehead.

---

"I can't believe you sometimes." Ishiko scolded, her steps turning into angry strides and Kakuzu knew she was frustrated again, and this time they can't solve it with sex. She turned around suddenly and placed her hands on her hips, giving Kakuzu full view of her front, and she didn't even notice as his eyes trailed over her chest. _I wonder if there's a way to keep her breasts big… _He snapped out of the thought once she snapped her finger, obviously noticing his sudden attention on her chest.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Hands off Dariru-chan." Kakuzu cocked an eyebrow.

"I wasn't using my hands. I was using my threads. And she was interfering." Kakuzu excused himself but Ishiko would have none of it. She shook her hands and lifted her hands, palms up. Kakuzu obeyed and settled himself into her small hands, closing his eyes.

"I don't mind so much Suigetsu, but harm Dariru and Kisame I will not tolerate it." Kakuzu smirked on how little Ishiko cared about the new one. Kakuzu crouched down, keeping his face in her hands and grabbed her wrist, kissing it through his mask.

"Fine. If you don't like it, I'll try to control myself." Ishiko lifted an eyebrow and sighed. Dealing with Kakuzu was like dealing with a large bulldog. She couldn't help but think his ultimate obedience was adorable, and she was simply too small to be his master. She turned her head to the side and gave him an exhausted look.

"I'm not asking to control yourself." That'll be asking him to change himself, something she didn't want any part in, "I'm asking to aim towards somebody else other than Dariru." She responded, clarifying her law. Kakuzu nodded; if she said so then he would obey. Kakuzu chuckled; this is what Keisuke must have felt like. To take every word of Ishiko's and take it as law into his world.

"Alright."

---

Kisame winced slightly as Dariru peeled the wrap off Kisame's forearm. The blood started to dry and then the rush of fighting Kakuzu had caused it to bleed more and the wound re-opened, making it stick to the cloth.

"Sorry, Kisame." Dariru apologized. Keirei looked around, kind of shocked that the man whom would father the child of such a girl was so violent. Then his eyes finally settled on the shorter-haired girl. For her sense of style and hair cut, it must have been easy for other people to mistake her for a boy. But with a sharp doctor's eyes like his, it was easy to tell genders. Plus, she didn't have any evidence of an Adam's apple. He wondered how she was able to tend to that blue behemoth without showing any sings of fear. Sure he was good at hiding his true feelings for patients behind a smile, but he wasn't sure that he could hide the fear he was feeling towards the…thing. It was then that he felt the eyes of the shark-man resting on his form dangerously. Though his instincts told him to turn away, he couldn't help but look up to meet the gaze he was receiving. The blue man was giving him a murderous, blood-thirsty glare that sent cold shivers of terror down the doctor's spine. Immediately, the blue-eyed man followed his instincts and turned away to the blood results.

Kisame kept glaring at Doctor Keirei's back, furious that the man had been staring at his woman. The blue criminal was still irked that Suigetsu had tried to worm his way between him and Dariru. The little punk was obviously trying to make a move on her, and he couldn't let that happen! He needed to keep Dariru for as long as he could. An uncomfortable pressure on his arm was what turned his attention back to the girl, who was just tying up the new bandaging over his re-opened wound.

"Stop glaring at him!" she whispered, trying not to let the doctor know that they were talking about him.

"He was staring at you!" Kisame whispered back, "Like some weird old pervert!"

Dariru held back the laugh that threatened to escape. "Hypocrite," she muttered to him after loosening the bandage on his arm. Kisame smirked at her little comment and bent down to kiss her cheek. So what if he was a hypocrite? She didn't seem to mind it at all.

Just as she was about to examine her lover's neck for any serious bruising, Doctor Keirei approached them with clipboard in hand. The doctor looked concerned and confused as his eyes stayed on the notes he had written down when he spoke, "You know Ishiko-chan fairly well, correct?"

The moment Dariru heard the concern in the man's voice she began to worry for her friend. "Yeah. Well, not as well as Kakuzu-san." She answered, her muscles going tense with the paranoia her mind was creating. Kisame placed a large hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort and to show that she belonged to him.

Keirei's eyes stayed focused on the test results Ishiko's blood had offered. "Well, apparently, your friend has taken drugs." Everyone in the room froze and a chilling silence filled the air. No one could believe what the doctor had said. Ishiko taking _drugs_? While with _child_!? Dariru was the first to find her bearings.

"A-are you sure she's…?" she couldn't even finish the sentence. The thought was just absurd! There was no reason for Ishiko to take drugs!

Right…?

Doctor Keirei nodded solemnly, "I ran the test three times to make sure it was right. All three came out positive for drug use." The sudden news was too much for the girl to handle. She walked to the closest seat, which happened to be a stool, and sat on it. Why was her friend using dangerous substances? Well, the doctor didn't say what kind of drugs she had been using, but still, it was bad! Who knew what it could to the baby! Dariru shook her head and ran her hands through her short hair. No, Ishiko wasn't that stupid; she would know that drug consumption was a bad thing for a developing fetus. But then all thoughts returned to the most basic question:

Why?

The girl took a deep breath and stood up straight, doing her best to push aside emotions that would cause her to cry. "I'll go get Ishiko-chan right away." Her statement was leveled and unfeeling; it made Kisame wonder how badly his lover was taking in the news. Sure it had rattled himself and the other two Akatsuki members in the room, but Dariru seemed to be taking it in horribly. He followed her, and just as they reached the door, she stopped and stared at the floor. "Kisame, please stay here."

"Dariru, you're not all here right now," he murmured just loud enough for her to hear, "I want to be there for you in case you lose control."

"Kisame, _please_," the girl looked up at him with a pleading look. There seemed to be so much hurt in her brown eyes, "Let me do this alone." This was a bad idea; the blue man just knew it. If Kakuzu found out, there was no doubt in his head that the stitched criminal would do something violent and might even take it out on Dariru. However, he couldn't say 'no' to her, not after seeing that look in her eyes.

"Fine," he grumbled reluctantly and watched her until the door closed behind her.

---

Ishiko and Kakuzu were just making their way back to the infirmary when they saw Dariru approaching. The shorter-haired girl's steps were hurried and her whole body looked tense. Kakuzu went on the defensive, in case the girl was plotting something against his lover, but Ishiko just met her friend half-way.

"What's wrong?" Ishiko asked. She had never seen Dariru this tense before.

Dariru switched places with the pregnant girl, so that her striped back was facing the tan Akatsuki member, and hugged her. Confusion was the first thing that went through the girl's mind until she heard her friend whisper, "The doctor found traces of drug use in your blood." All of the color drained from Ishiko's face at her words. Now she knew why Dariru had switched places; she didn't want Kakuzu reading her lips in case this was something Ishiko didn't want him to know about.

Ishiko hid her sudden shock with a smile and returned the hug as to not raise Kakuzu's suspicions and whispered back, "Thank you."

Kakuzu glared at the mutt's back. Something strange was going on, and apparently, she didn't want him to know about it. But he would confront Ishiko about the situation after they were done with the doctor. He strode up to the two girls and interrupted their hugging, "Well, let's get back to the doctor. I want to hurry up and get this over with."

* * *

Blood Thirsty Me just loves creating plot twists, and this one even surprised me!


	23. Chapter 23

Gah. I really don't like this one chick. Her teeth grosses me out and reminds me of greesy razor blades. Ewww. -shudders- She's a real heiffer too. Sorry. I don't mean to go off but she just annoys the hell out of me. Ugh. Anyway I love the plot twists and I writing along with Blood Thirsty Me.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ishiko tried to keep it hidden, but she was truly furious. What had she done wrong in her spy abilities to give herself away? She held Dariru's arm like a male would a woman to a ball, but she was glaring straight ahead. When had she slipped? She tried retracing her steps and try to find when a leak was possible. So far only Itachi knew she was taking the medications other than Sasori. Or did Sasori tell the pinkette and she released the information to Sasuke who in turn told Suigetsu and then told Dariru? So many possibilities ran through Ishiko's head and she glanced over to Dariru who stared at the ground. No, Sasori was not one to tell somebody information that had nothing to do with them or gained him nothing. And Itachi was the same. So it had to be her error that gave way. It was the only viable answer. Had Dariru peeked into the socks back in the inn? Wait… The blood work. Shit! The doctor! Her heart raced and she felt anxious. Everyone must know. As soon as she steps foot into that office everyone would be staring at her like she was a druggie.

"Ishiko?" Dariru piped, calling Ishiko's attention to her hand gripping a little too hard on her friend's forearm. Ishiko put on a surprised face and laughed nervously.

"Sorry, must be the results I'm nervous about." Dariru saw right through her lie this time. But Dariru must have decided to be quiet about this one for she just went back to staring at the ground. Ishiko shifted, tilted her head in thought yet again. This was getting annoying. What shall she do? She cannot simply deny this truth, if they already didn't have evidence they will surely find some to prove her either innocent or guilty. And how would Kakuzu take it? He already knew her decaying disease which would take her life far too soon of her natural time, but he had never known of her taking drugs for it. Every step was another fast heartbeat and when they finally reached the door, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Dariru opened the door opened and Ishiko's stare met with Deidara's who stared at her with unrecognizing look in his eyes. Her eyes launched to Keirei.

"You told them?" She demanded from the man and Kakuzu immediately knew something was wrong. She was keeping something from him. Keirei raised his arms in defense.

"I wouldn't have had to if you would have informed me of such a thing to start with, I was merely concerned." Keirei explained and even Kisame knew the man was crossing the line. The man had no right to deliberately tell everyone, even if not outright, that Ishiko was taking drugs. Ishiko's eye twitched but she kept her composure. But Deidara interrupted the two of them.

"Ishiko-chan do you know what those things can do to you? You're pregnant now! You're taking a huge risk by taking these things, un!" Deidara pleaded. He took her hands into his but she looked at him like he was filthy and ripped her hands away from his. Kakuzu quickly took his place beside her and set a hand on her shoulder, getting defensive on why Deidara was acting so urgently. Taking what? He looked down at an embarrassed and frazzled Ishiko. Then he finally looked at the doctor.

"What is going on here?" He asked and the blue-eyed man sighed.

"Ishiko-san is taking drugs. By my readings, continually." _Oh shut up. _She thought a scowl forming on her face. _It's not like I'm addicted to them or anything, I need them to hold down the pain. _There was a medical reason behind it, not like most druggies. Kakuzu's hands tightened on her shoulder and he wasn't even looking at her.

"You're lying." He stated simply, pulling Ishiko closer to him. No, his Ishiko was better than that. She wasn't any addict on the street; she was his God, and his World. There was no way in hell she would pollute herself by taking any kinds of drugs. Everyone went quiet and Ishiko turned her gaze. She couldn't look at anybody right not. Not Dariru, not Deidara, not Kisame or even Suigetsu. They kept looking at her with that same expectant stare, like she was going to admit some sad story on how she needed it and she couldn't live without it. Ishiko wasn't going to admit that. They didn't need to know anything. Nobody needed to know about her disease that will slowly take her life. But Ishiko pulled away from him, staring at Keirei intently.

"It's true, Kakuzu." Kakuzu didn't want to hear it, though it broke him to know so. She looked back at Dariru, seeing her face in a mixture of disappointment, and confusion, she really couldn't stand this right now. But she looked back at the doctor.

"But don't look at me, like I'm a damn addict!" Ishiko hissed, poking him roughly in the chest.

"I need these injections, you hear me? I can stop taking them, but your hands will be covered in blood if you make me stop." She growled dangerously, practically ramming the poor doctor into the wall. He held his hands up in defense, trying desperately not to yell back at her. This sounded like the same excuse every druggie gave to a doctor or physician.

"What are you talking about, hm?" Deidara questioned, taking a step closer to the enraged girl to try to get her away from the doctor before she went crazy. However, Kakuzu placed a hard hand on his chest and shoved the blonde back. He would have fallen over had Kisame not caught the man.

"Get out," The tan man snarled at the onlookers.

"But—"

"GET OUT!" The command came out as a furious roar that no one dared to disobey. Suigetsu was the first to scramble out of the room, followed by Deidara and Kisame. Dariru lingered behind, unsure of whether to put her foot down on the situation or to follow the other three men. This was her friend, and who knew how much comforting she would need; especially since Kakuzu seemed about ready to tears heads off. However, at the sight of the man's quivering arms she could tell he was doing his best to not attack her. With one last worried look, Dariru left the three to their long discussion.

Kakuzu didn't even wait for the mutt to be out of ear-shot when he turned on Ishiko, "Why are you taking drugs!? Are you _trying_ to kill our baby?!" He was furious that she had kept this from him, and even more furious at himself for not realizing it sooner. His emotions were controlling his words, and the moment they were out he wished desperately that he could take it back.

"NO!" Ishiko snapped, giving him a look of disgust and hurt for even _thinking_ of such a thing. She should have told him about this sooner. If she had, they wouldn't be having this argument now. "I _want_ to have this baby! I would never do anything to harm it!"

"Then why are you taking _drugs_!?" he couldn't take this anymore. Kakuzu grabbed her shoulders and gave her a light shake, "No more hiding! Tell me what's wrong! And don't you _dare_ lie about—"

"Huntington's Disease," Ishiko stated quietly, hoping that he wouldn't hear her; she didn't know if she could say it again. Her eyes began to heat up and her throat clenched as her body began to want so desperately to cry. Doctor Keirei, who had been standing in the sidelines, thinking this girl was just another addict, suddenly realized why there were drugs in her blood. He suddenly felt guilty for giving everyone the impression that she was an addict.

"What?" Kakuzu didn't hear her, his mind was too busy sorting out everything that was going on. There were so many things he was feeling right now, but by the look on his lover's face, he knew this was beginning to become a difficult subject. She looked like she was getting ready to cry, and he felt ashamed of himself for yelling at her. This was his Ishiko…surely there must be a perfectly good reason for to take drugs.

"Huntington's Disease," Keirei repeated for her, "She's taking drugs to slow down the effects of the disease." He explained, setting down the clipboard and taking a deep breath. "The drugs you're taking…the only thing they do is stop the stiffness and pain in your muscles right? No hallucinations, no strange highs?"

Ishiko nodded, "Yes. It only stops the pain. Nothing more." Kakuzu stared at her like he didn't know who this woman was. How long had she been keeping this from him? How long had she been in so much pain that she had to rely on a drug to make it go away? And why hadn't she told him before? He would have helped her pain! Hell, he would have even begun searching for a permanent cure for her!

A tired grumbled came form the doctor before he responded, "Well…the worst thing that could happen is that the baby gets addicted…but that's an easy thing to fix. However, it might inherit your Huntington's Disease, Ishiko-san."

The girl looked down at her feet and placed a protective hand over her stomach as if it would protect the child from the disease. She prayed that the baby wouldn't inherit this horrible problem; it was the worst thing she could ever give to her child…

"I can give you more drugs for your pain," Doctor Keirei offered, "They're much safer than the ones you're buying off the street."

Before Ishiko could even shoot the man a glare, Kakuzu snapped at him, "How can you be sure that she's getting them from the streets?"

The doctor shrugged and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his lab coat, "I can only assume she doesn't get a steady, or well-paying, income. And these drugs cost a lot when you get them from a doctor. However, they're pretty cheap if you get them from some guy in the alley, who's barely making ends meet." Kakuzu wanted nothing more than to wring this man's neck. He knew getting a doctor was a bad idea…

"She doesn't need those drugs," Kakuzu hissed, trying to stand-up for his pregnant woman. He tried to make her will seem strong, that she could survive without the use of some chemical concoction. Even if he didn't know much about Huntington's Disease, there was no way it was _fatal_. Right?

Her tiny hand grasped his and she kept her gaze fixated on a cobweb in the corner, "Yes I do, Kakuzu." Her voice sounded so tiny and broken. As if admitting she needed these drugs was the most shameful thing she could ever say to him. "If I don't take them when I have an…_incident_…I might not live through it." Kakuzu's eyes widened and before he could say anything in question, Keirei, rose to her defense.

"Who first diagnosed you? Ishiko-san? How long has this been happening?" Ishiko decided that now was the best time to get everything out. He was going to find out later anyways, he might as well know everything. It was best for her baby. If he knew the full extent of Ishiko's disease, then he should be able to take better care of her, and perhaps even tell her if the baby will inherit it. Kakuzu stared at her, his hand's loosening on her own and Ishiko felt herself choke up from the feeling. Was this going to lead to problems? Did he… not like her anymore? Ishiko had never been one to question her relationship with Kakuzu, even though he didn't say it much, he always made sure to express it with the gestures of kissing her hands or letting her sleep on him just so he could touch her. But now thoughts of doubt filled her head, and it scared her shitless.

"Sasori-san. A little less than a year, but it's been making fast progress. He diagnosed me when I started showing violent symptoms." Ishiko stated, not being able to meet Kakuzu's eye on the subject. He must have been so ashamed of her. Here he was, this successful and well-known bounty-hunter, powerful ninja; engaged to this weak, cowardly druggie spy of a ninja. She certainly didn't amount up in any way to be worth being mentioned in the same sentence. Keirei nodded, not daring to ask the other male if he knew about any of this. If he did, he wouldn't have made such a fuss about it.

"Alright. Your still in an early stage. I'll put you on opium until you give birth, afterwards I can start you on a treatment plan. With your consent of course, it's just a set of trials that may lead to a permanent cure." Keirei suggested. Ishiko nodded and looked at Kakuzu, who was staring at the ground and shaking his head slowly. Ishiko let go of his hand and sat down on the paper-covered bed, taking a deep sigh.

"As for your child, since its still your first trimester we'll keep a close watch in case of a miscarriage, in this case where you body may still reject the fetus and flush it out of your system, so if you see any unusual bleeding let me know right away. I prescribe opium, but it can be orally taken, so I'll administer it-"

"So she won't have to use injections anymore?" Kakuzu interrupted, making both Ishiko and Keirei look at him. Ishiko looked down in return, of course she'll have to stop. In a way she was relieved. She can stop using the needles, and stop having to sneak around to get the pain-killers. Keirei gave a assuring smile to the father of Ishiko's child.

"No. I'll place about two drops of opium in a glass of water for her to drink every morning, unless she may have an episode…" Keirei said and nodded in her direction, as if he needed her approval.

"And it may ease the morning sickness once you get that." His voice rose a just a pitch higher and he looked at the door while writing something on his paper and let out a long breathe of air. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes and walked over to Ishiko, gently grabbing her hand again. After this was done and over with, he was going to have a serious talk with her. Something like this could not be easily forgiven like other things that had happened in their relationship he did not approve of, this was crossing the line, and she had to know that. But Ishiko obviously had other things in mind.

"What about sex?" She asked boldly, and the doctor looked up in surprise, shocked such a person would ask a thing like that. The doctor fumbled for a second, trying to gather his composure and Kakuzu felt himself smirk lightly for his lover to do such a thing to the doctor he hated so much.

"Normally it's not suggested. Um… During the first trimester your nausea and morning sickness may diminish any sex drive, and your sensitive breasts may prove t-to be painful… Miscarriage cases have been known, uh, and orgasms may linger and cause t-tensions…" He swallowed and found himself unable to directly look Ishiko in the eyes as she sat and looked at him like a student.

"In your second trimester… you'll be less sickly and some women even said they felt sexier with the new figure." Kakuzu lifted his eyebrows and glanced down at Ishiko, already counting down the days when that may happen.

"But this trimester is when fathers normally become fearful for harming the child or that the child may "know" what is going on because this may be when movements of the child can be felt… and often cases I get the father gets awful jealous of the child and mother's relationship, and I've had a few when…" He drifted for a second, taking in a steady breathe.

"The father would kill the mother out of frustration."

---

"Your even more tense than usual." Dariru noted, rubbing Kisame's shoulders. Dariru peeked at him from his shoulder, wrapping her slender arms around him and he turned his head to peck her lips and ran a hand on the underside of her forearm. She was so cute when she wasn't even trying to be. And when she tried to be; it was so funny and cute at the same time. He felt almost guilty for being such a pedophile. Almost.

"Just thinkin'. Never thought Ishiko-san would be one for drugs. Just always seemed so straight-edge." Kisame told her and Dariru frowned in return. She had always thought that too. But she had always known the fact that you couldn't judge a book by a cover, everyone had a dirty little secret and the drug-use just happened to be Ishiko's. Dariru rested her head on Kisame's muscular shoulder and he sighed.

"Makes me wonder about you…" Guessing by the smirk on his face Dariru assumed he was joking, trying to get some humor out of the serious as death situation. Dariru smiled in return.

"Yes, my real name is Lacy and I worked at a strip bar for school money." Dariru joked and Kisame's eyes sparked and his eyebrows lifted. Kisame didn't even wince as he turned quickly and lifted Dariru up with his arms and slammed her on his bed, hovering over her in less than a second. Kisame growled and latched onto her shoulder, making Dariru laugh excitedly and Kisame rested himself on his elbows, looking at her straight in the eyes and moving a stray piece of hair from her face.

"I think we should try something new tonight."

* * *

Blood Thirsty Me suggest we should change the rating on this sotry to "M". Ahh... If you don't see it now you'll find out next chapter. LOL


	24. Chapter 24

Hm. I feel rather anti-social. I'm just not getting along with most other people, er, girls. Some are just so stuck up it's hilarious and others are plain boring and not to sound rude but fugly, and they think they're all that. Friday, there was this one girl who was SO stuck up! We had nothing to do and there were these four or three guys slidng around on rolling chairs having, well, fun! It was quite entertaining and they were having fun becuase we had free time and it was getting boring. Then she goes, "Ugh. Can you guys PLEASE act your age?". -__-;; Honestly. It's highschool, we have our whole middle-years and senior years to act our ages. Atleast we're not all already going through menopause and being all bitter and not wanting to have fun.

* * *

Chapter 24

When the doctor had finished up his report about Ishiko's pregnancy, the couple left the infirmary with Kakuzu in the lead. The man was taking such long and hurried strides that Ishiko had to practically jog to stay by his side. Anger, guilt, sadness, and frustration coursed through every part of his body and it was driving him crazy. Why hadn't she told him of her sickness sooner? Had he seemed that heartless and detached to her that she believed he wouldn't even care about it? More guilt and anger swirled inside, making a dangerous mixture that would screw with his brain and actions.

The moment he got inside his room he kicked the stool he had been sitting on yesterday across the room. It collided with the stone wall and one of the legs snapped like a toothpick. Ishiko had winced from his violent outburst, but Kakuzu didn't notice as he paced back and forth across the room. He was doing his best to calm himself down and not yell at her for keeping things hidden from him. There were so many things he wanted to ask and scold her for, but he didn't want to scare her off like he had done with their 'Keisuke" conversation. Right now, he needed to pick the right the words that wouldn't be too hard on her.

Ishiko just stood by the bed, watching her lover pace furiously back and forth in front of her. She could tell he was furious at her, and she felt ashamed for not telling him about this sooner. Though, the reason she hadn't told him before was so he wouldn't worry so much about her and get side-tracked from his Akatsuki missions. But if he had known sooner, or even if she had been the one to tell him instead of the doctor, then they wouldn't be in this situation now. The girl stared at the ground as he continued to pace.

Kakuzu stopped and took two steps towards his lover. He pointed an accusing finger at her and whispered dangerously, "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

He was doing his best to hold back his anger, Ishiko could tell by the way his voice was strained and forced into a whisper. She had to be careful in her choice of words as to not break that short temper of his. The girl straightened her back and looked at his forehead, still not wanting to look at his eyes, "I believed that…this burden was for only me to carry. Not you." The man yanked down his mask to reveal a sarcastic smile.

"Not..._my_ burden?" He hissed, "_Not my BURDEN!?"_ He pulled away from her and took his anger out on the broken stool, crushing it into splintered pieces with his foot. It wasn't until he calmed down slightly that he faced her again, "Ishiko, if it is _your_ burden, then it sure as hell is _my_ burden too!" Normally, the girl would have been flattered by such a comment coming from him; however, the situation called for seriousness, not swooning.

"I didn't want you to get distracted from the Akatsuki because of my silly condition," The girl tried to justify herself, her voice becoming bolder. His anger was contagious and she could feel it beginning to form in her gut.

He scoffed and shook his head, "If you're so worried about distracting me, then you shouldn't have started a relationship with me in the first place!"

The boldness faded and all anger fumed up with the sadness Ishiko was feeling now. "Well then," she choked back the tears that threatened to escape again. She hated crying; it made her feel so vulnerable and weak. The last thing she wanted was to let him see her in such a state. "If I'm such a distraction to you, then you wouldn't mind me leaving." She went for the door, and just as she began to twist the knob, a large tan hand slammed against the wooden frame.

"You have no idea how much it would bother me if you left," he admitted, his voice more leveled and controlled. Perhaps his last comment had made him calm down after realizing what he had said. "Do you really believe that it's better for me if I didn't know about your disease?"

Ishiko nodded slowly and whispered, "Yes."

His hand slid off the door and the man stood up straight. "Alright, let's play a little scenario, shall we?" She gave him her full attention and he began, "What if the doctor hadn't found the drugs in your blood? Then we wouldn't even be having this little argument. What if, after that, you _never_ tell me about your disease or the drugs you were taking? Then I'd be living in pure ignorance, and we would never really know if our child inherited it or not. Well, maybe you would because you would because you know what the symptoms are. So now, we fast-forward to your…" he took a deep breath and forced the next words out, "your funeral. They do an autopsy, and find out your cause of…death…was this disease. What do you think will happen to _me_ after finding out the love of my life has kept something so important hidden from me our whole lives?" He paused and waited for an answer from her.

The girl stood there, letting all the information sink in and shrugged meekly, "I don't know." Sure she was lying, but she was pretty sure Kakuzu wanted to answer the question for her anyway.

"You know damn well what'd I do," Kakuzu's voice wasn't angry or loud when he said those words, but they sounded more hurt and quiet than anything else. "I'd kill myself." Ishiko looked away at the thought of him dying, but he grabbed her shoulders gently and kept going. "You know I would do that. And I would do it out of guilt and grief. Because, not only has my love left the living, but she didn't tell me that she had a disease that shortened her life span. And it would make me think that _I_ had done something wrong. That maybe, I acted too unattached to her, or didn't express my love for her the way she wanted me to. That this whole thing was _my_ fault. Because, I hadn't done enough to let her know that she could trust me and tell me anything that was on her mind."

Kakuzu closed his eyes momentarily, his hearts hurting for even imagining the fact Ishiko was dead. He never wanted to see a cold, lifeless Ishiko. But it made him realize all the thing he was afraid of. The mighty Kakuzu of Takigakure, worried he wasn't doing enough to let her know that he truly loved her, that he wasn't expressing himself like normal men would. Ishiko was a coddler. And he simply wasn't, in fact, he wouldn't so much as touch another person if it wasn't necessary until he met Keisuke and her. But Keisuke was obsessive-compulsive, and only came into physical contact with him when they slept together. But now he was giving her chaste kisses and letting her sleep on him. He would grab her hands and kiss them, intertwine his into her thin fingers just so he would be touching her. But his eyes opened with surprise as Ishiko grabbed his face into her hands and yanked him forward, kissing him fully on the lips and grabbed his hand and placed it on top of her heart.

"Does my heart beat like it doesn't trust you?" She asked, eyes filled with desperation.

"If I didn't love you would I really trust you to not take care of it? I offered you my heart because I knew you would take care of it." She looked down, gripping Kakuzu's hands and running her fingers over the stitches of his.

"Those drugs make me weak. I didn't want you to be ashamed, or even more so." She smiled sarcastically.

"Here you are; this powerful S-ranked criminal, able to take any woman he wants, a successful bounty-hunter." She sucked in a breathe and Kakuzu could feel her rapid-heart beat through her skin. A heart he harbored to save her.

"And here I am, this rat of a spy ninja, cowardly and having to resort to drugs to take away the pain. If Leader-sama knew I was distracting you in anyway, he'd break us up. I don't want that." She whined lowly. Kakuzu stared at her. Did she really trust him? Right now he could easily steal her heart, and rip it from her chest. Right this instant he could rip it right out and throw it away. His threads emerged from his forearm and pointed at her skin, just barely putting enough pressure to break the skin, but she didn't even flinch.

"I am an S-ranked criminal. I can easily kill you right here and now, and throw your heart away, and you trust me so easily. You'd be an idiot of a spy to do that." Kakuzu said, expecting some sort of reaction of shock from her. But Ishiko looked up, like she was exhausted.

"…As long as when you rip my heart from my chest, you give it a kiss. I wouldn't mind." The threads immediately retreated into Kakuzu's body and he tore his hand from her chest. He didn't want to think like that. But Ishiko took another step towards him, her eyes narrowed.

"But an idiot of a spy?" She thrusted her hand forward, fully grabbing his manhood through his clothes and made the tan man stiffen.

"Please; if I were truly an idiot I wouldn't take this chance to cut off your favorite appendage and take off." Kakuzu smirked, even when she was angry like this she always managed to turn him on. But even he knew she wouldn't do such a thing.

"Not just _my _favorite, unless all those screams were lies." Kakuzu's voice was filled in strain, like he was preparing himself for her to put any pressure or actually cause harm but he lifted his eyebrows at her perseverance at keeping her sly and 'I'm-in-control-here' look glued on her face. But she bit her lip in thought and then her lips curved in a smirk. She brought up her free hand and grabbed his chin to bring his face closer to hers.

"Don't try and sound all cocky, that's what got me pregnant in the first place." Kakuzu growled, almost surprised on how quickly the situation turned from serious to sexual. But that was just her effect on him working its magic again.

"You know I love a woman in control. Especially when your on my- UN!" He winced and groaned in a mix of pain and pleasure as she squeezed a little too roughly.

"Says the S-ranked criminal."

---

"So, Kisame," Dariru said loud enough to be heard from the bathroom. "Where'd you get the cat ears?" The girl examined herself in the bathroom mirror. The thinly layered, laced black lingerie practically jumped out against her pale skin and made sure to _barely_ cover the most important parts of her female body; which she had purchased herself accidentally back when she was still a citizen of Kirigakure. Good _gawd,_ she almost as pale as Itachi! The fresh black eyeliner made her brown eyes brighter; she could even see some traces of green in them. But the finishing touch was the fake cat ears that rested on top of her head. She had readjusted her short hair to cover up the thin band that kept the fake animal ears on her head, but she was unable to hide her real ears. Then again, she highly doubted that Kisame would be focusing on her ears when she walked out of the bathroom…

"I stole them," he replied quickly from the other side of the door. "Are you done yet?" He was getting impatient, and it made the girl grin wickedly. She wondered how long it would take for him to just barge right through the door to see her? Then again, this was his idea and he might be a little more impatient than usual.

"Almost!" she hollered, making one more quick adjust to the fake ears before opening the bathroom door just a crack. The blue man turned his bare back to her and scratched his short blue hair. She loved the way his hair looked without the headband on; mostly because that metal symbol would just remind her of her old home and family. Though she had never admitted it, barely even to herself, she missed her parents deeply. If there was a way for her to just know that they were okay, then her mind could be at peace…but now was not the time to linger on past memories. She needed to be focused on her half-naked lover and what he wanted to do with her.

Without making a sound, Dariru slipped out of the bathroom and advanced to the oblivious man just like a cat would do to its prey. She rolled her eyes at he little comparison and smiled when she was just and breath's length away from him. The scars on his back were very faint and barely noticeable; but after seeing him shirtless so many times, she could see them as if they were freshly open wounds. And she practically knew the story behind every one of them because of her questioning. The girl wrapped her arms around his ribs first before pressing herself against him. His breath hitched at her touch, making her smile grow wider. It was very rare for her to be in any control over him when they were about to have, or having, sex. Not that she didn't mind his domination, but it was interesting for her to be in control at the moment, and she was going to use it to her full advantage.

"What's this?" she hissed teasingly, "A fish out of water? It must be my lucky day," she lightly ran her nails over his skin, not daring to inflict any pain on him. There was no need for blood…yet.

Kisame turned so quickly that she almost stumbled back, but he kept a hand pressed against the small of her and pulled her close. A very faint blush coated her cheeks at the feral look in his eyes and at the fact that her thigh was practically rubbing his hardness through the fabric. A playful smirk decorated his face and he replied, "This fish has teeth." His lips parted just slightly to show off the pointed fangs that had broken her skin many times while they were in the moment.

A tiny smirk formed as she slinked her arms around his neck. "A small price to pay for a taste," she purred before kissing him. A growl rumbled in his chest as one of his hands gripped the back of her head, pulling her closer to him while the other hand began to roam up and down her body. He bit her lip and she let out a small cat-like hiss before digging her nails into the back of his neck. At first he was taken aback by her actions, but was back to normal when her bloody lips returned to his.

"Be nice fishy," she panted when he began to unclip her bra, "or I'll stop savoring you and just rip you open."

Kisame had to bite his lower lip to keep himself from laughing; it was so strange to let her be in control, but it was a major turn-on at the moment. "Very well…_pussy_-cat," he murmured into her ear, laying butterfly kisses on her neck and collarbone before tossing the black bra to the side.

---

Ishiko woke up to Kakuzu's sleeping form, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and her own little hands hiding beneath her pillow. Last night had left her unsatisfied, but that was her own doing. She had been able to relieve Kakuzu of his sexual desires via mouth, however after remembering what Doctor Keirei had said about sex during the first trimester, she had refused to let her lover please her fully. She didn't want to lose the baby because she had an orgasm that could have been avoided. Of course now, as she lay awake with her back to the tan man, she felt a burning need for him. The girl shook her head and kept telling herself that it wasn't healthy for the baby at the moment. She would just have to hold back her desires until the first trimester was done. Until then, she would just have to make do without receiving release.

A sudden churning in her stomach made the girl's throat tighten up and the room began to spin slowly. She had to go to the bathroom…_now_. But when she began to move, Kakuzu's arms tightened around her, refusing to let her go.

"Kakuzu," she pleaded, trying to push his arm away with a shaky hand. "I have to go to the bathroom!"

"You can hold it a while longer," he murmured before beginning a trail of kisses up her back and neck.

"No…I-I can't," she felt queasy and was able to get her head to hang over the bed.

"Yes you—"

The rest of the special dinner that Dariru had made for her, along with a certain liquid from last night's fun with her lover, splattered onto the floor. The girl wrenched and puked again as the smell of stomach acid and rot began to fill the air. Kakuzu kept one arm wrapped around her waist while the other pulled her hair out of her face. _Note to self…_the man scolded inwardly, _she means it when she needs to use the restroom…_

* * *

My grades aren't the best. And my parents are getting really mad at me for it, they found out I have missing assignments and won't get off my back about it. Now they're all "We're gonna moniter you while you do projects so you get the specifics done!" GOD! The frustrations of a procrastinating teen.


	25. Chapter 25

Eh, I was watching a little show or something on T.a.T.u and it turns out my favorite singer, Yulia, is a natural blonde. Even though for her song 'Ya Shoshla S Uma' she died it black and cut it long. I just thought that was pretty interesting.

* * *

Chapter 25

Ishiko ran immediately to the bathroom, demanding a new change clothes and solitude to puke her guts out, but even Kakuzu winced at the heaves and noise she was making. If anyone but his Ishiko were making such noises, pregnant or not, he'd be sure to kick them out. But this was his Ishiko suffering of bodily functions, not just anybody. Kakuzu opened her small sections of drawers she kept her clothes in and grabbed a bra, underwear, and pants and picked out a black shirt that had sleeves he knew she liked. He carried them to the bathroom, knocking on it so she wouldn't be so surprised when he barged in.

"Don't come in." Her voice wheezed and she groaned in frustration. He opened the door anyway, not like he cared whether she looked like shit or not, he would still find her sexy and Ishiko needed him. She looked up, her eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears and an arm hung around the toilet while the rest of her body sprawled on the floor. The camisole she wore last night and the loose shorts were wrinkled on her as if she slept in it for a week straight.

"I feel like shit Kakuzu, don't bug me." She mumbled, resting her hot head on the cool floor. Right now she didn't care if it was covered in bacteria or not, she just wanted to feel okay. Kakuzu lifted an eyebrow and set the clothes down.

"Try and get dressed, I'm going to get that useless doctor." She nodded in response, her eyes lazily following him as he set down the clothes next to her and left, making sure the door was closed.

---

Keirei was never very good at making new friends. In medical school he was always alone, and he never spoke to other people unless he had to. But dealing with patients and family members was different. He had to deal with horrifying news and horrible discoveries of abuse and neglect. This one was no exception. This girl seemed no older than twenty, and the father was this abuse case waiting to happen. He needed to know as much as he could, and getting to be close friend with this Dariru character seemed to have its benefits. She was the only one who really seemed to persistently care about Ishiko, and was not afraid to stand her ground to make sure Ishiko was okay.

He walked into the kitchen having a rough night in the Akatsuki spare room which stunk of blood and cigarettes, not to mention the bed had been worn and the room was cold as a polar ice cap. He ruffled his hair and his blue orbs looked upon a Dariru washing some dishes. The tank top she wore was beyond belief exposing, but on her shoulders wasn't smooth, flawless creamy skin, but scarred tissue that foretold a rough night beforehand. It almost worried him how calm and relaxed she seemed to be while having such injuries. Maybe this was his chance to finally get on a good step with her. But then again, it was rather early and perhaps she wasn't expecting anyone around, that certainly explain why she was wearing such exposing clothing.

He had to admit it did fit really well on her. Not to mention he never really liked tan girls anyway. This girl seemed around the same age as Ishiko, maybe a year or two younger. It made him feel bad for seeming like an old pervert and watching this young girl doing household chores. Then he remembered the strange blue man she had been tending to yesterday. She seemed to be quite fond of the criminal, or maybe it was just something she tolerated considering that it had been quite obvious that the blue creature was very fond of her. A cold shiver of fear coursed through his body at the memory of the man's glare. It had looked so murderous that he had believed he was going to be killed then and there. The memory made Keirei look about the room suspiciously for any sign of the shark-man, but even after finding no sign of him, the doctor decided to keep his attention focused on the top of the girl's head instead of her exposed skin. He cleared his throat as to not startle her too much and was a little shocked to see her lip red and a little swollen from a recent opening. She didn't seem like the type to bite her lip excessively…was she getting abused?

But instead of receiving a broken smile, like most abuse victims give to people, Keirei got a bright happy smile from the girl. "Good morning Doctor!" she chirped enthusiastically, "How was your night?"

"It could have been worse," he admitted, watching her grab a mug out of a nearby cupboard. She made a questioning motion towards the coffee pot and he nodded, "Yes please." As she poured him a cup of hot caffeine, his eyes wandered back to the fresh marks on her shoulders. Some looked like scratch marks, but the rest were definitely from bites. "What happened to your shoulders?" he couldn't help but ask after receiving the warm cup from her.

A bright blush coated her pale face and she became a little sheepish. "Oh…um…those. I, uh, got those from Kisame."

The doctor raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "The blue guy?" The girl nodded, her blush growing brighter. "Did you two get in a fight?"

"Oh, no!" she straightened herself and explained, "He would never do this just to harm me! It was all in good fun!" At the mention of "fun" Keirei immediately understood why those marks were there. _So Dariru-san and Kisame-san are lovers…but that one kid seemed to be trying to get in the way from what happened yesterday,_ the man mused to himself as he took a sip of coffee while the girl began to prepare for breakfast. Aside from the awkward silence, everything was going fairly smoothly; so far he hadn't pushed her buttons the wrong way and hopefully it would stay that way.

He took a deep breath and asked, "I need to talk to you about Ishiko-san."

At the mention of the girl's name, Dariru froze and her once bright mood subsided into concern. "Is she alright? Did those drugs do something to her?"

Keirei raised his hands in an attempt to calm her, "Hold on Dariru-san. Ishiko-san is fine. The injections she had been taking were a requirement for her."

Her brow furrowed in confusion, "A requirement? What do you mean it was a requirement?"

At first he was going to tell her everything that had happened in the infirmary after she and the others had left; he didn't like seeing such a happy girl suddenly look so troubled. It just didn't seem right. However, the doctor remembered Ishiko's outburst for letting her drug-use secret get out. This might be something the girl would want to tell Dariru herself…

"I think it's best if Ishiko-san was the one to tell you that," Keirei admitted and the girl seemed to be perfectly fine with it. "I want to talk to you about Ishiko's relationship with the father."

"You mean Kakuzu-san?"

"Yes."

"What about it?" Dariru could only assume that the doctor was worried about Kakuzu's temper. After seeing the tan lash out at everyone, the girl was shocked that Keirei hadn't given him anger-management tips at that moment. But other than that, she didn't know why he would want information on their relationship. Wasn't it already obvious that the two were head-over-heels for each other? Or had something else happened when she had left the infirmary?

Doctor Keirei did his best to focus on the coffee's warmth instead of the girl. He was hoping this question wouldn't offend her too much, "I'm worried for Ishiko-san. I've seen so many cases where women had been beaten by their men because of the baby. Of course, the reason as to _why_ they were beaten varies. Sometimes the man didn't want a baby to begin with. And sometimes the man just gets jealous that the woman doesn't pay enough attention to him."

Immediately Dariru understood where the doctor was going with this conversation and it appalled her. But she did her best to hide her disgust since he didn't know the couple as well as she did. "The only person who claimed to love Ishiko-chan and then strike her was her own mother." She wasn't sure if her friend would want her to give out this information to a total stranger, but she was protecting the couple by doing this. "And I know that Kakuzu-san has _never_ hurt Ishiko-chan."

He gave a meek shrug before taking another sip of coffee, "Well, he may not be abusing her _now_, but I'm afraid he might. With that temper of his, it's just a matter of time before he lashes out at her."

Dariru pushed the skillet off of the hot stove, as to not burn any of the food this time, and faced the weary doctor. "The only thing you need to accuse Kakuzu-san of is being a good man to Ishiko-chan." Keirei heard the sternness in her voice and felt like a child and she the scolding mother. "I understand that your first impression of them may not have been very positive, but those are completely enamored with each other! Kakuzu-san would never lay a hostile hand on her! Hell, he could have left her the moment he found out she was pregnant, but he didn't! He's still with her and I'm pretty sure he wants this baby as much as Ishiko. He might not show it, but I'm sure that's what he feels. This baby is not going to make Kakuzu-san be abusive to her. In fact, _nothing_ will! If anything, this baby is going to bring those two closer together!"

The two stood in silence, letting the words sink into the doctor's head. Perhaps Dariru was right; perhaps the tan man was good to Ishiko and always will be. After all, there have been cases where a baby had softened even the toughest of men. However, Keirei still wasn't fully convinced that the pregnant girl was out of danger yet. The man just seemed too dangerous to _not _abuse his woman. The man decided that he would still keep a close eye on this Kakuzu; just in case his intuition was right.

Their silence was broken by Tobi, who came running into the kitchen, giggling like a maniac. The masked boy opened the pantry and squeezed himself into the small space before closing the door. Keirei looked confused and concerned for the boy's mentality, and Dariru just rolled her eyes with an amused smile before going back to her cooking. It was then that a furious Suigetsu stormed in, his entire body and boxers soaking wet. Doctor Keirei did his best not to choke on his coffee at the amusing sight.

"_Where is he_?" Suigetsu snarled, "I'll hang him by his own intestines!"

Dariru took one glance over her shoulder before returning to her work as a small blush coated her cheeks. She was not expecting the boy to be half naked _and _soaking wet! "You'll have to put more clothes on if you wanna know where Tobi is."

The trainee would have smirked and made some semi-rude comment, but Kakuzu shoved the boy out of his way with a large hand. "Move it shorty," The man growled before walking calmly up to the doctor. "Ishiko's started puking."

Again, Dariru paused in her cooking at the mention of her friend, "Is she okay?"

Doctor Keirei set his cup down on the counter, "It's probably just morning sickness. But take me to her anyway." Kakuzu grumbled at the command, but lead the doctor out of the kitchen anyway. Kakuzu turned forward yet again, and Keirei assumed he wasn't looking. But the glanced to see Dariru again, dealing with the half-naked male with the same teeth as the blue man, and the masked boy that seemed to have some mental problems. She must be some sort of care taker of sorts. Even better, she'd be definitely best fit to take care of Ishiko in her final stages of pregnancy. Even if Ishiko did start being abused, Dariru would definitely protect her until matters were settled.

"How long has she been puking?" Keirei asked when they finally reached his room; Kakuzu looked at him and grunted out, "Since she woke up." Keirei nodded and proceeded into the bedroom, not even bothering to hold his nose at the smell of vomit. He had long grown used to the smell and this time was certainly no different. From the echoing of heaving, he guessed she was in the bathroom, and knocked gently, not wanting to alarm her or scare her at a time like this.

"It's Dr. Keirei, Ishiko-san. Are you alright?" Ishiko flushed the toilet and he could hear loud coughing.

"I'm vomiting how do you think I fucking feel!?" She yelped and Keirei sighed mentally. Yeah, definitely morning sickness. And from the sound of it, this symptom may have just shown up for her to be this irritable.

"May I come in?" Ishiko mumbled a "yeah" and he allowed himself inside, the tall Akatsuki member right behind him and nearly stepping on his heels.

"Alright, I think you should start on the opium." Keirei said and gave her a small pat and got up, nearly running into Kakuzu.

"Where do you think your going?" He growled and Keirei gulped. These men were truly ferocious and intimidating. Keirei had to rethink what he was going to say before actually speaking, although he didn't want to somehow set this man off at such a time because of a wording problem.

"I'm going back to my room to fetch the opium. I assure you it'll make her feel better, and it will help her sleep more comfortably without causing harm to the baby." Keirei said, raising his hands in defense. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, almost in non-belief but stepped aside.

"Hurry it up."

---

"You should be nicer." Ishiko almost gagged on her words, not about the fact that Kakuzu being nice to other people was practically impossible, but the fact that the smell of the toilet water was nauseating. Kakuzu grumbled and crossed his arms. Be nice to the doctor? Ha!

"And why should I be? The man's absolutely an idiot." Kakuzu mumbled and didn't even glance at his appearance in the mirror. Ishiko's lips turned in a hint of a smile and she coughed again.

"He may be delivering our child."

---

"Opium… Opium…" Keirei mumbled; opening his bag that was set of the small wooden dresser that looked like it was bought from a garage sale from all the markings and chips in it. He mostly didn't want to complain for a concern for his life.

"Dr. Keirei?" Keirei jumped and turned around in shock, but relaxed when he saw it was simply Dariru, and along with the blue man behind her. He placed a hand on his chest and wheezed, letting out a relaxed breathe.

"My God I thought you were that ferocious father come to finally kill me." Keirei admitted causing the blue man to chuckle, showing off those pointed teeth of his. Dariru glanced at him with a light smile and then returned her gaze to Keirei.

"We just wanted to make sure that Ishiko was going to be fine." Keirei nodded and turned his back to snatch the opium bottle from his bag and an eyedropper.

"She will, I can assure you that much. I haven't exactly preformed a full-body examination do I can't make any promises. But she seemed to be exhibiting good signs." Kisame chuckled. Like Kakuzu would ever let anybody see Ishiko naked. Well, he and Dariru were an exception for the one night. Shaking that memory from his head, he turned to grip Dariru by the marred and bitten flesh of her shoulder had had caused himself the previous night. Dariru sighed happily.

"That's good to hear. Ishiko was always one to tough things out." Dariru said brightly. Keirei glanced at her in silence and then back to the opium. He really should get going.

"Excuse me," He murmured brushing past her and heading back to Kakuzu's room. Dariru blinked and she looked up at Kisame.

"Hey, I think I just got another idea."

* * *

Eh, I think both me and Blood Thirsty Me agree this may not be our best chapter. Tons of loose ends and it's extremely short, but more drama to come! -gasp-


	26. Chapter 26

Ah so much drama is going on. LOL. My friend Hannah is so freakin' funny. The other day becuase there was a sub and she managed to fool the sub into thinking Hannah was pregnant when she only had a soccer-ball under her shirt. It was so hilarious. I feel there's too much drama right now and so naturally both me and BTM (Blood Thirsty Me) insert humour every now and then, you'll be able to tell when there's a moment when we break the tension.

* * *

Chapter 26

Doctor Keirei held the small vile over a cup of water, his hand shaking slightly to encourage a drop of opium to fall from the little vile. Kakuzu stood in the doorway impatiently, his narrow eyes never leaving the nervous man while Ishiko huddled on the bathroom floor near the toilet, just in case. One drop of liquid opium fell into the glass and the doctor paused for a moment before continuing the steady shaking. The girl's arm shook out of impatience and fatigue; if this was going to make her better then she wanted it _now_. Had her legs not been so shaky, then she would have stood up and shake the vile violently until the rest of her medication came out. The second drop mixed with the water and a smile crept along the doctor's face as he handed the glass to her.

"Drink it all," Keirei instructed the moment Ishiko started making a disgusted face at the taste. She was expecting it to taste more like water than whatever that odd bile flavor was. But she did as she was instructed and gulped it all down until the bottom of the cup was dry. "That's a good girl," he praised, making Kakuzu's fists clench at the way he was talking to her. "You're going to be drinking this every morning, okay? It'll calm down the morning sickness and it'll prevent those attacks." The girl merely nodded, still afraid she might vomit again should her mouth open.

Keirei stood up and pocketed the vile of opium. "You should be fine for the rest of the day. Please don't hesitate to get me if something bad happens." The man mainly spoke to Ishiko, doing his best to avoid the larger man's glare. He gave her a curt nod before hurrying past Kakuzu and leaving the two alone.

"I still don't like him," Kakuzu grumbled, walking over to his lover to help her stand.

She gripped his strong forearm and leaned against him for balance and support. The after-effects of puking were the worst; she just hated feeling so weak. "What for Kakuzu? He hasn't done anything but help us so far." The girl figured it was his over-protective nature that was making him so hostile towards the doctor. It wouldn't be the first time that he acted this way because of his nature.

He helped her over to the bedroom and sat down next to her on the bed. "First off, he told everyone that you had been taking injections." Ishiko shrugged that aside. Though she hated to admit it, it had been for the best that Keirei had revealed her drug-use. Not only did it feel like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but now she was on safer medication for her disease _and_ pregnancy. Kakuzu grabbed her hand gently in his and immediately she knew something was troubling him. Ishiko stared at him expectantly and waited for him to speak.

"He thinks that I'll hit you."

The girl held her breath at the accusation, "H-how do you know Doctor Keirei thinks that about you? Are you sure you're not just getting too over-protective of me?"

"I heard him talking with Dariru-san this morning in the kitchen," He spoke slowly and evenly. "He was asking her how our relationship is…and was implying that I might become abusive to you." Ishiko sat in silence and shock; she never figured Doctor Keirei would ever accuse Kakuzu of such a thing! Sure he had acted hostile towards the doctor, but surely that didn't give off an abusive impression!

She grabbed the sides of his face and turned him to look at her. "Kakuzu, you know that I love you. And I know that you would _never _hurt me. Don't let him scare you." She gave him a peck on the forehead and let the man take her hand again.

His thumb caressed her hand slowly and he kept going, "Dariru-san is a good friend to you…to _us_. She stood up for you _and_ me when she was talking to the doctor."

Ishiko rested her head on his shoulder and squeezed his large hand comfortingly. "Sounds like you might start trusting her," she added, trying to add some humor to the situation.

He grunted, "Barely."

---

Dariru smiled and giggled at the small nips Kisame was giving to her neck. Their new idea had been a _very_ fun one, and now they were just cuddling, still trying to regain their composure from their shared bliss. But judging from the feeling pressing against the back of her leg, the girl assumed their cuddle would be over soon. It made Dariru wonder why she hadn't gotten pregnant yet. Sure she made sure that he would pull out when she close to, or on, her period, but they've had _a lot_ of sex. Almost every night they were doing some sort of sexual activity that it was making Dariru concerned that she _wasn't_ pregnant. Was she sterile? Or maybe Kisame was sterile?

The thoughts in her head made her blurt out, "Do you think we have too much sex?"

Kisame paused mid-bite. How was he supposed to answer this? Women could be unpredictable and at first he had thought Dariru was an exception to that rule; but ever since Ishiko got pregnant and Suigetsu came into the picture, she's been asking such strange questions. "No?" he was unsure with his response and hoped she wouldn't snap at him for not giving her a proper answer.

However, the girl just shrugged and chirped, "Okay. Just curious," before turning to face him and nuzzled into his body. Kisame looked down at the girl and was unsure what to do. Her strange questions were making him worry. Was she getting tired of him? The thought made a cold shiver run through him and insecurity was running through his mind. And that was saying something considering Kisame was never one for being insecure. Sure when he was younger he'd often look in the mirror and criticize himself, his blue skin had nothing but damage his self-esteem as a teenager, but ever since he became a Swordsman of the Mist.

It was definitely having its toll being with Dariru. All the worries he had as a young man were coming back and haunting him with a vengeance. Was he toned enough for her liking? Was his hair okay? Was his breath? He wrapped his arms around her, staring at the wall questioningly, muffling his nose and mouth in her short hair. He wanted to keep her. Of all the mistresses and 'girlfriends' in the past he had, he wanted to keep Dariru most of all. He wasn't sure what he would do if she of all women rejected him, or dumped him for the likes of Suigetsu, or even the damn doctor.

"Don't abandon me." He whispered lowly.

---

_Ishiko blinked at the sunlight blinding her, moving her arm to help block the light and it worked as she rose, sitting straight up. It was a sunflower field this time, and her chocolate eyes were already searching. _

_"So… Ishiko-chan's pregnant?" Ishiko jumped at the voice and how close it sounded and yelped while she jumped to the side, clutching the ground in panic. Keisuke turned his head and smiled at her, seeing her alarm as some warm welcome. _

_"I'm just taking a wild guess here, but is it Kakuzu's?" Keisuke asked ever so calmly. Ishiko's chest heaved and a hand covered her stomach, earning an amused guffaw from her _dead _older brother. He threw back his head and Ishiko's heart raced on why he found such a thing funny. But then he sobered and he stared at her with narrowed eyes. _

_"Bad, bad Ishi-chan. I thought I taught you to be aware of evil men." Keisuke scolded and crouched to her level. Ishiko gasped at his closeness and crawled along the grass, her eyes never leaving his. _

_"Now an evil seed is inside you." His voice sounded so calm. An eerie wave silence fell upon Ishiko and she felt so unsettled, her heart was racing and her palms were getting clammy. She never thought in her life she would be this afraid of her once loving older brother. Keisuke stood up again, a creepy smile gracing his lips. _

_"I'm not letting you hurt it." She growled and she gasped to catch her breathe to refill her racing blood with oxygen. Keisuke blinked and looked truly appalled. _

_"I'm not going to hurt it. As long as its in you, it'll hurt you as well. I wouldn't do a thing to harm you Ishi-chan." Ishiko's eyes widened at where he was aiming. _

_"You dare lay a hand on my baby, in me or not I'll kill you many times over." Ishiko growled a threat and sucked in a breath with narrowed eyes. Keisuke's matching eyes bore into hers and he smiled once more, tilting his head like he was going to tell her a secret. _

_"That is, if that monstrosity doesn't kill you first." _

_---_

Ishiko turned and opened her eyes, not seeing Kakuzu anywhere. She figured he left her to sleep in peace and she buried her face in the pillow. Clutching a hand over her stomach she sucked in a steady breathe. It was just a dream. Clenching her eyes shut, she wished she could grip onto Kakuzu, and wishing she knew the ground-breaking news her informant was going to bring her.

---

Kisame brought his huge sword down in one mighty thrust, but Suigetsu dodged as expected, and right as he came running from the side, Kisame lifted his leg and kicked the boy in the stomach, making his gasp and land on the ground. The boy was way too predictable at times, there was no way he could become a Swordsman of the Mist at this pathetic rate. He swung Samehada at the boy's head-level, but instead of decapitating his head from his shoulders, the boy melted into water. A small snarl escaped the blue man as he waited for his opponent to reform. That boy would have rejoined his brother long ago if it weren't for that trick of his. Female voices made Kisame turn in their direction and saw Dariru having a conversation with Ishiko as Tobi tagged along behind the two like a happy dog.

He couldn't quite hear what they were talking about and had manage to hear the words "Doctor Keirei" before Suigetsu lunged at him with Zabuza's sword. Kisame barely had enough time to raise Samehada and block the oncoming blade. The boy pushed against the scaled sword and gave his opponent a smug smirk.

"Why don't you mimic your little girlfriend and pay more attention to me?" the boy sneered, making the blue man shove him away with his sword.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kisame hissed, trying his best not to let the girls hear him. "Last time I checked, she was sleeping in _my_ bed." Again he swung dangerously at the boy as jealousy began to take its toll on the man's irrational use of power. Dariru couldn't be paying much attention to this pipsqueak! Right? She loved him, not Suigetsu…right? The boy made like he was going to swing the sword from the side, making Kisame shift Samehada in that direction to block. However, the boy lifted his knee and kicked the man in the gut, making him stumbled backwards. _Damn it!_ Kisame bared his teeth at the prodigy, _I should have seen that coming!_

"She might be in your bed now," the boy smiled at his successful attack, "but from the blush on her face in the kitchen, I could tell she was checkin' me out."

Kisame's grip tightened on Samehada's handle and he swung angrily at the boy. He was lying! He had to be! She wouldn't leave him for this simple boy; even though the "simple boy" was younger, better looking, and definitely more human than he was. But Dariru had told him many times how much she loved him, and had even shown her love many times too. There was no way she would leave him for Suigetsu. Surely that couldn't be true…it can't be…

_She belongs to me!_ Kisame snarled in his head before finding a weak spot in Suigetsu's evasions. He kicked the boy in the jaw with the heel of his foot and then swung Samehada from the left. The prodigy didn't even have time to melt into a puddle of water as the sharp scales bit into the flesh of his arm and raked it open. An agonizing scream came from his mouth, his similarly pointed teeth showing as his lips pulled back to let fly his scream. Without remorse, the blue man punched the boy in the face, feeling his nose break against his knuckles and even felt a tooth crack. The boy released his sword and brought his hands up feebly to block the next attack, but it did little help. The man lifted his foot and pushed the boy to the ground with a powerful kick. Suigetsu coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood and a chunk of a tooth. Kisame's chest heaved as he took heavy, furious breaths. The boy's actions would _not_ go unpunished!

The sound of hurried footsteps did not slow him as he raised Samehada over his head. Not even the pleading scream of his lover stopped him from bringing the blunt of the weapon crashing down towards the boy's head. The sound of cracking rock filled the air along with Suigetsu's fast and panicked breathing. The footsteps had stopped and the man didn't even bother to look at Dariru or Ishiko to see their facial expressions. He waited for the boy's eyes to open before crouching over his rigid and bleeding body.

Suigetsu's wide eyes kept staring at the blue scales that were just inches away from his face. Kisame had to grab the boy's face and make him look at him with his free hand to get his attention. "If you try _anything_ with my Dariru, I _will _kill you." The blue man growled before shoving the boy's face to the side and standing up. He yanked Samehada out of the rocky ground with one powerful jerk of his arm and let the scaled blade rest on his shoulder. With one more glare, he turned away from the gasping prodigy and stomped away from the scene. Dariru came storming up to him, fury written all over her pale face; he had been hoping for some comfort from her, but he assumed that wouldn't be the case.

"What's wrong with you?" she scolded quietly, doing her best not to create a scene. These words were meant for him and only him. "You could have killed him!"

"Why do you care what happens to that little brat?" Kisame snapped, not even caring that Ishiko and Tobi were watching the two of them awkwardly. "Did you like the way he looked when you were in the kitchen? Or maybe you're thinking of _him_ when _I'm _the one who's pounding you senseless at night?"

_SMACK!_

The stinging pain of her hand across his cheek surprised Kisame and everyone else who was watching. He turned his head slowly, afraid that she might hit him again, and saw a mixture of emotion on her face. He could see anger in her frown, and regret and sadness in her eyes; it even looked like she might cry. A pain worse than the one on his cheek wrenched at his gut from the sight of his lover. He was beginning to regret the words that had come from his own mouth.

The girl didn't say anything as she walked past him to the bleeding Suigetsu. Kisame watched as she helped the boy up slowly and gently, being careful not to touch his injured arm. Soon Tobi ran to her side to help lift the white-haired boy up on his feet. Very carefully, and without a single glance to Kisame, the pair helped Suigetsu along towards the infirmary. The man sighed in regret and looked at Ishiko, hoping for some form of sympathy from her.

But the pregnant girl just shook her head and said, "You had that coming."

* * *

Feeling jittery again. I hate it.


	27. Chapter 27

Not much to put here

* * *

Chapter 27

"You had that coming." Ishiko shook her head at the blue man. Kisame frowned even deeper, partially upset even Ishiko couldn't give him any sympathy, but it should be expected since he knew she had a thing for Dariru only, and perhaps only tolerated him because of it. But she blinked slowly and looked at him again.

"Maybe you should confide in Kakuzu. I have a meeting." She gave him a curt nod and walked off, leaving Kisame all alone in the cold sparring area.

---

Maybe Ishiko was right. After all, he could relate to Kakuzu in more ways than he had first thought. He trusted Kakuzu more than any other person in the Akatsuki, excluding Dariru and perhaps Itachi in a way. He just wouldn't trust the tan man anywhere near Dariru or with his money. Walking towards the kitchen, totally having to force himself from looking in the direction of the infirmary where he knew Dariru and Suigetsu were probably talking about how irrational he was, and continued on to the dining room.

If he knew Kakuzu, he would be sitting in his usual spot of the table and reading a latest article of the stock market and new bounties up for grabs in the free newspaper an informant delivered and drinking a cup of coffee. It didn't matter whether night or day, that was where, he would be when he wasn't following Ishiko around like a guard dog gone rapid.

He was right.

Kakuzu was staring intently at his newsprint paper and taking a somewhat frustrated sip of his coffee from a mug Ishiko had given him one day in an attempt to get him to stop drinking from this old, cracked cup he called a mug that disgusted her.

"Kakuzu-san," Kisame breathed, putting on a kind smile that showed his distress about the situation he was currently in. Kakuzu looked up for a split second but then his eyes returned to the paper as if he could change its wording in a split second.

"You and the mutt get into a spat?" Kakuzu guessed and Kisame had to bite his tongue to keep from lashing out. Kakuzu was pushing it by calling his Dariru a mutt in his face. But Kisame's lips turned into a cracked smile.

"Ishiko-can told me to confide in you." Kakuzu's eyes lifted for a second-longer than the last at him but dropped as usual. Kakuzu grunted and Kisame could only assume it was a chuckle of some sort.

"Then talk. If Ishiko told you to, then if I don't she'll be upset with me. I don't want to upset her when she's as hormonal as she is right now." Kakuzu flipped a page and Kisame looked down, his blue hands fumbling. How should he word this? He didn't exactly want to make it seem like Dariru was the bad guy in this picture, for he knew that he crossed a precious borderline he had worked so hard to earn. Not to mention he spoke about her and his sexual life in front of Suigetsu, Ishiko, and the little idiot Tobi.

"I'm…I just…" The man grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose in thought. It was hard to spill his guts out to the tan man, mostly because he didn't want to seem weak in front of him. He let out a sigh and sat in the chair across from Kakuzu, propping his elbow on the table and then hiding his face in his palm. "I don't want to lose her…she's…she's everything to me. If I lost her to another man, I…I don't know what I'd do…" He was beginning to regret the words he had said to her. If it wasn't Suigetsu who took her from him, then he would be the one to drive her away because of his stupid jealousy.

At first Kakuzu didn't say anything. He just kept staring at the newspaper and took sips from his cup. Kisame began to wonder if he had heard anything he had said. But then the stitched man folded up his paper and pushed the mug aside, giving Kisame his full attention. "Do you trust her?"

He scoffed, "Of course I do!"

"Then what's the problem? If you trust her, then why do you think she'll leave you?"

Kisame shook his head, "Look at me Kakuzu-san. I'm not the definition of 'Prince Charming'. And I never will be. With Suigetsu around…well, she might wise-up and go for him. He's better looking than I am." This conversation wasn't as uplifting as he thought it would be. So far all it was doing was reminding him that he wasn't normal human being.

The tan man rolled his emerald eyes, "Did she ever _ask_ for a 'Prince Charming'?"

Kisame was silent at the man's comment for a long time. "…no…"

"Then don't worry about it! If she wanted to leave you for another man, then she would have already. You're not the only male in the organization, remember?" The man stood up and carried his mug to the sink and left it there for Dariru to clean-up later. "If you really wanna see how much she loves you, then go to her now." He suggested as he was leaving, "Apologize. Tell her what you just told me, and just listen. I'm pretty sure she'll make you feel better." And with those final words, the stitched man left Kisame alone to his thoughts.

Kisame had never thought of Dariru's preference in men that way. Never in their relationship had she ever asked him to change in any way to be more like a normal person. She seemed to accept the way he was and didn't seem to mind at all. But even though hope rose inside of him, there was still that nagging in the back of his head that would not leave him alone. It kept saying that she would leave him because he looked like a freak, and the creature that she feared the most. And it was that nagging that made him so possessive of the girl and so hostile towards the other men that stared at her. Though, she seemed to be oblivious of their stares most of the time and it made him wonder how she couldn't notice the stares. Was she so focused on him that no one else mattered?

Either way, Kakuzu had been right. He had to apologize to her and tell her what he was feeling. She would listen to him…she had to listen. He needed to know how she would react to his feelings. Without another thought, Kisame stood up and made his way to the infirmary.

---

Ishiko walked into the interrogation room and settled herself into the seat, her eyes locking with Ryou's who was shaking under the bright light.

"It's been some time and I haven't received any reports in the past few days." Ishiko stated, making Ryou gulp in worry he had angered her.

"I-I apologize Yamako-sama. I thought you would want some time to yourself to… grieve." Ishiko's right eye twitched ever so slightly but she kept her composure. Of course she would want time to grieve, but business of the possible living came before her business with the dead. Besides, when she finally had the baby, she would make sure to make a visit to her mother's grave. Ishiko craned her neck and slammed a hand on the table.

"I'm fine. Give me the reports." Ryou nodded, sliding a couple of folders across the table to her, and Ishiko took it without hesitation, opening the one marked 'Keisuke Tsuwa: Autopsy' on the front. She opened it, letting her eyes scan the first few lines such as details. All the things she already knew. Blood type was the same as hers, eye color was the same as hers, and hair color was the same as hers. Her eyes lowered and skipped over cause of death, she already knew that too.

"You've been slacking Ryou, care to elaborate why?" The red-head looked nervously down and down to the bandage around his toes.

"I… I've been handicapped recently Yamako-sama, Please forgive me, I gave information about you to a man who was searching for you a couple of days ago." Ryou clenched his eyes like he was going to be hit; he deserved to be anyway, he was the one caught by a possible enemy of his superior's. But Ishiko looked up, partially shocked and concerned. He had given away information about her? And to who?

"I was tortured by a tan man in a mask and a man with blue skin and sharp teeth. I'm sorry Yamako-sama please forgive me!" He stood up and bowed and stayed in that position, awaiting a reaction from Ishiko. She tilted her head. Kakuzu and Kisame? Was that how they found their location so quickly? Ishiko smiled, it was touching to find out the extent on how far Kakuzu went to find her, so much as capturing Ryou and torturing him for information. But she hid her smile quickly and coughed, gaining his attention.

"Then use your handicap to your advantage. You're dismissed." Ishiko said coldly, making the red0head look at her in surprise. He stood up and quickly nodded, bowing to her before setting a hand onto the doorknob.

"Oh, and Ryou-san." Ishiko called out, sending a shiver down Ryou's spine. He stiffened and craned his neck to look at her. She turned to him and gave him a warm smile.

"Let us not have anymore delays? Agreed?" Ishiko let the file in her hand drop to the cold metal table. Ryou's heart raced and he nodded, slamming the door behind him. Ishiko's smile disappeared and her eyes shifted back to the words written on the autopsy report on her brother. She knew it. Except, her fears were identified now and completely confirmed.

She knew she had to tell Kakuzu this, even though he may not want to hear a word about it.

---

Kisame took a breath; she may still be with that little brat in the infirmary. But it wouldn't matter. He loved Dariru, so much he was scared to lose her. He would be broken if he didn't have her. Sexually of not, she completed him, and he couldn't lose that no matter what. Walking towards the infirmary, it gave him a few minutes to think of things to win her over again. He didn't want to say the wrong thing to her. He needed to save what was left of their relationship, not diminish it.

---

Suigetsu wasn't exactly sure what to do now. Dariru seemed to be distant from him now, not friendly as she used to be. It may be because that stupid Kisame had to open his mouth that Dariru was too close to him for Kisame's liking and now she was on guard and she was more conscious of her actions around him. She didn't touch him anywhere except near his wound and when she needed to, and she didn't look at him straight in the eye. He could swear those jabs with an alcohol-covered cotton swab were intentional.

"Hey… you okay?" He dared to ask, and she continued with cleaning his wound. It hurt to talk, but he was determined to get her talking to him again. There was no way he could steal her from Kisame if she didn't even speak to him. She sighed and threw the bloodied cotton swab in the trash and got another one. He didn't care about the uneasy tension Kisame created, he just…

He just wanted to talk to her. The thought made him mentally wince. _I actually sound like I have other intentions with her other than to just piss Kisame off. _But maybe he did. He shook the thought off and concentrated on getting Dariru to talk to him again. She cleaned the dried blood off the rest of his arm and pressed a new cloth to his arm and held it with her forefinger.

"Hold that there for a second." She said quickly and as soon as he set his own fingers on the cloth she left to the small dresser-like cabinet filled with medical supplies. He stared as she calmly searched for a roll of bandage cloth and she smirked.

"Are you some sort of medic-nin?" He asked, grinning at her. She apparently found what she was looking for and she looked like she was going to respond to him, but a loud pounding of the door distracted her and two pair of eyes landed on the transparent door and Dariru stiffened at the sight of Kisame. He obviously saw her, and his eyes trailed hers as she walked calmly to the door and opened it ever so slightly.

"We're not doing anything but healing the wound for your information." Dariru grumbled grudgingly. Kisame winced and looked at Suigetsu, receiving a glare from him.

"Can I talk to you?" Kisame asked and Dariru narrowed her eyes.

"I'm treating Suigetsu-san, unless you want me to drop the only job I have here that keeps me near you." Dariru said, making Kisame frown even deeper. That's right. All of her headaches she had gotten and burns from cooking she earned was because of the helper job she accepted to stay with him. She sacrificed not seeing the light of day and never talking to her family again for him, and him only. That was way before Suigetsu ever came into the picture. Dariru was about to slam the door shut again but Kisame grabbed her wrist, making sure not to bruise her pale skin.

"Please talk to me." He pleaded softly, hoping that she may realize he was a complete moron and messed up. His young lover looked at him momentarily, Kisame figured she was debating whether to leave Suigetsu or not while he was in such a condition. But she loved Kisame. If he couldn't see it when would he? And how could he not see it? She sighed and looked back at Suigetsu.

"Just hold that cloth there; I'll be right back Suigetsu-san."

* * *

Reviews are appreciated.


	28. Chapter 28

Oo... and the drama continues. Anyway I've kind of noticed something from reading the last chapater of Blood Thirsty Me's story. Dariru's Dad is a little opposite of what our future Daddy Kakuzu is like. Daitaro splits his love, reserving a lot more for Dariru. Kakuzu is a little more posessive, and ony cares for Ishiko. He's kind of tempering himself to feel what Ishiko feels. Naturally, in case you haven't noticed, he doesn't really like the baby so far becuase he knew it might hurt Ishi-chan, but becuase she's proud of the baby, he kinda is too. But I still really like how Kisame seems like a little school boy when it comes to Dariru talking to other men.

* * *

Chapter 28

The two went out into the hall, still staying close to the infirmary so as to not make it seem like Dariru was slacking on her job. She crossed her arms and stared at the worried blue man with narrowed eyes. Sure she was a little happy that he had come back for a calmer and collected conversation, but she was still mad at him for the way he had attacked Suigetsu, who is, whether Kisame liked it or not, a member of the Akatsuki now, and had the way he had spoken to her. The last time she had felt this mad at him was when she had overheard his conversation with Hidan. The memory of Kisame saying such things about her made the girl feel uncomfortable and she did her best to keep her mind on the current situation now.

"Well, what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked impatiently, not wanting to be away from her job for too long.

Kisame swallowed his pride and spoke, "I'm sorry. I let my anger get the best of me. It not only caused Suigetsu-san harm," thought he wasn't really sorry for that…he was just saying it to get on her good side, "It also made me say thins that I really regret…" _Again_, he added mentally, remembering the incident that occurred about a year ago with Hidan.

Dariru's practically instinctual need for more details overtook her, "So, why were you angry? Last I checked, you were always in a _good_ mood during sparring."

An inaudible grumble came from him; he had been hoping she wouldn't ask why and would have just accepted his apology. He didn't want to tell her he had been jealous, then again the words he had said to her made her clear that he was, even if he didn't say word-for-word. "Well…he said that…" Kisame tried to get the words out, but his pride just wouldn't let him; he didn't want to seem like a child for letting such words affect him so greatly. "It doesn't matter what he said," he answered quickly, waving his hand as if it would erase the matter completely, "The point is I'm sorry. And I'll try my best not to let it happen again."

The girl felt her heart sink. Did he not trust her enough to tell her what Suigetsu had said? Then again, she could always get the information out of the boy when she went back to the infirmary, but it was still saddening that she couldn't be hearing it from Kisame. "Well, that's very kind of you, Kisame-san," she added the honorific to show she was still fairly upset, "but 'sorry' isn't going to make Suigetsu-san's skin grow back."

Kisame opened his mouth the say something, but she quickly gave him a curt nod and said, "Excuse me." The girl turned on her heels and disappeared into the infirmary. A guilty pain stung her gut as she leaned her back against the infirmary door, not paying any attention to Suigetsu's questioning look. The blue man still didn't understand how much she truly loved him. Sure the conversation they just had more than likely made him feel like she was beginning to hate him, but she couldn't just accept every apology he gave out every time he did something wrong and pretend it didn't happen. Why couldn't he realize she loved him? She gave up everything just to be with him…she even killed an oinin for his sake! What would make him finally realize it…?

"Hey, hey, hey, don't cry!" Suigetsu exclaimed, "I don't want to be accused of making you cry!"

Dariru hadn't even realized she had let a few stray tears roll down her cheek until the boy had said something about it. She wiped them away with the back of her hand did her best to push the matter aside; she had to take care of Suigetsu's arm now. Without another word, she went up to him and began to wrap the cloth around the shredded skin. The boy kept staring at her, even thought she refused to even look anywhere near his head-level.

"So, I'm guessing you two had a big fight out there?" He honestly didn't really care what the two of them had talked about, but if it would help him get on good-terms with Dariru, then he would at least pretend to be interested.

"No," she sighed, her free hand moving up to her eyes as if getting ready to wipe away more tears. "He just apologized…"

Suigetsu raised a confused eyebrow. Didn't women normally fling themselves at men who apologize? "Sooo…Why're you sad?"

The girl tied the bandaging and shook her head, "I don't know if he's just being stubborn or stupid or if maybe I'm doing something wrong…" there was a pause and the boy couldn't help but notice her hands were still on his arm. Was she doing that on purpose? A sigh came from her and she asked, "Kisame said that you said something to him that made him mad. What was it?"

"I told him to stop paying attention to you and to focus on me," Suigetsu half-lied. There was no way he would tell what had really set off the blue man; it would ruin his whole plan. "Then again, it is pretty hard for some people to keep their eyes off of you." The boy bit his tongue the moment the words came out. _What the hell am I doing?!_ He yelled at himself as the girl turned away. Before she could be out of reach, the boy snatched her wrist and added quickly, "Hey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that; especially since you're having some trouble with Kisame-senpai."

"I'm going to get Doctor Keirei," Dariru stated quietly, "He'll do one last look-over on you for any more damage."

Suigetsu nodded and released her wrist, watching her leave the room once more. An aggravated sigh came out of the boy the moment he figured it was safe. This little plan of his was becoming more complicated than he thought…

---

The moment Kisame got in his room he kicked the closest thing that happened to be there. He was losing her…god damn it, he was going to lose the one person he wanted to keep by his side forever! What was he doing wrong? He figured he didn't need to change anything about himself because Dariru had never asked him to. Nor did she ever complain about it. But now…now it felt like everything about him was wrong. And she used that honorific—good lord; she used an honorific—and left as if he hadn't even _tried _to fix what he had done. The man went into the bathroom and closed the door, leaning his back against the wooden slab. Maybe he should have told her what Suigetsu had said…maybe then she wouldn't have walked away. Maybe then she would avoid Suigetsu more…

_Suigetsu…all of this was happening because of that little bastard!_ Kisame growled inwardly and pushed himself off of the door. They had been happy together for over a year until Suigetsu came into the picture. It was that god damned "prodigy" who was ruining his relationship with Dariru! Kisame gripped either side of the sink with his hands, his knuckles becoming a pale blue. No, he had to calm down…he couldn't let anger control him again. Maybe he needed to open up more to Dariru…he did trust her after all, but it was everybody else that he didn't trust, with the exception f a few people.

He couldn't lose her…and if it meant killing the ones who got in the way of their relationship, then so be it.

---

Ishiko had some trouble in finding Kakuzu, but she succeeded nonetheless. There was no doubt in her mind that their conversation might lead to a heated argument, but it was necessary. Whether Kakuzu wanted to hear it or not, he needed to know about Keisuke's autopsy report. The girl raced to the stitched man, wanting to hurry up and get this over with, and shoved the envelope into his chest. He seemed shocked at the item on his chest, but took it out of her hands anyway.

"What is this?" The man asked, flipping the envelope over for any writing.

Ishiko licked her lips nervously and replied, "Keisuke's autopsy report."

Immediately, Kakuzu threw the envelope to the floor and stared at her with his emerald eyes. "He's _dead_ Ishiko." The girl picked up the mass of papers quickly as if they might burst into flame if they stayed on the ground for too long.

"No he's not." She stood up straight and pulled out the piece of paper Kakuzu needed to see, Ishiko seemed hurried.

"His dental records don't even match. I remember he's missing his wisdom tooth; he lost it once when he got into a fight at the Academy; and the body they recorded has all of their teeth. Keisuke's slipping up. He wants me to know he's still alive, he wants me to continue to live in fear of him." Ishiko's voice was pleading and Kakuzu's eyes skimmed over the paper, finding everything she was saying was true. But it couldn't be. There was just no way, they both saw Keisuke die right before their eyes. But then again, the sneaky bastard managed to find a loophole last time as well. This may be nothing new at all. Ishiko's breathes came quick and heavy, her eyes glazing over.

"He's alive. Look at the bottom. It says his body 'melting into itself'." Kakuzu glanced at her and then back at the paper. It was true. But maybe that was because Keisuke wanted to leave it like a loose-end and continuously torture Ishiko with the fact that Keisuke was probably alive for the rest of her natural life. That seemed more like his style rather than him actually being alive. He was always one for destroying evidence than just the truth. He could have used a jutsu on himself that when he died his body would be destroyed soon afterwards. But Ishiko took a deep breath and grabbed the envelope again.

"That's an old trick Iwagakure uses. Black ops use it to hide evidence on bodies that have been captured by enemies. Only ninja trained under the Tsuchikage know how to perform it and successfully use it." She looked up and her eyes bore into his, and it didn't need words for they both knew what that meant. Ishiko especially.

"Ninja like Keisuke." She stated coldly, and Kakuzu felt like screaming. How could he let something like this slip past him? Now Ishiko was definitely in danger. The sick son of a bitch played them like a deck of cards. Her chest was still heaving as she stared at him with worried eyes.

"What do we do, uh?" Ishiko asked him, her nervous trait coming right back and Kakuzu could tell she was scared shitless. Not only was her incestuous brother alive, but she was pregnant. He could come after their baby, as some sort of revenge against him for impregnating her. He would not let that happen. He took a quick glance around and yanked off his mask.

"I'll kill him," He grabbed her face and settled his lips onto hers before she could say anything in protest. He could tell she needed air so pulled away for a split second before bruising her lips with his again. This process repeated a couple of times until he broke away to pull on his mask again.

"You can't do that." Ishiko grabbed the cloth of his cloak in huge bundles with her small hands.

"Of course I can." Kakuzu assured her, settling his larger hands on her forearms but she shook her head furiously, making Kakuzu's heart drop when he saw a glimpse of the scar on her forehead.

"No, I…" Cold realization hit the tan man as he saw Ishiko look away and bite her lip. She only did that when she was worried about his reaction on something.

"I don't want you to." She said softly, but just loud enough he could hear her clearly.

"Are you kidding me?!" He yelled, making her wince.

"Keisuke is the only family I have left now-!!" She shot right back, almost equaling in ferocity.

"Well boo-hoo I'm not enough for you, or the fact our child is growing inside of you!!" Ishiko's eyes went wide and her eyes filled with angry shock. Kakuzu gripped her arms, trying to control himself, there was no way he could live with himself if he hurt her in such a manner because he was getting angry.

"Keisuke is only doing what he is for me." She said, trying to level her voice but finding it extremely difficult with such an atmosphere. She looked back and then back down to the little red cloud on her lover's cloak.

"He… wanted a perfect one for only me and him. Anything else he would take out. And the only people he tolerates… I'm not sure." She tried to remember back in her dream. Those chilling words that unconsciously told her the future. The baby she has now... may very well kill her. Kakuzu seemed unwilling to take that as an answer.

"That's not good enough! And you know it! You and I both know that because I am the father of this kid Keisuke will not like it one bit!!" Kakuzu yelled back and Ishiko clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see his angry face. She knew she may not be making sense right now; even she was struggling to why Keisuke was still in her dreams, and what he may do next. Kakuzu sighed, seeing on what he was doing to Ishiko. He dropped to his knees, making her above below eye level with him, and he grabbed her wrists, placing gentle kisses on them.

"Look, we don't know what Keisuke has planned. He's obsessive-compulsive, and he's a sociopath. I'm trying to think of what best for you and the kid." Kakuzu explained, keeping his voice strained of all anger and frustration. Ishiko looked at him, a deep frown forming on her face.

"But we both came from the same mother. We shouldn't be too different."

---

Suigetsu as a young boy always revered to girls as nasty and delicate little things that should stay on the sidelines and should never be allowed on the battle field. He never wanted to be stuck protecting something or constantly having to watch something as ridiculous as a girl. But seeing Dariru, he felt his opinion changing little by little. He hated it. Staring at his bandaged arm, missing the warmth the girl's hand brought, he had never felt weaker. No matter how many times he had tried to dismiss the thought, it just kept coming back with a vengeance. He was pretending to like her. It was a mission to overthrow the blue man from his seat of power. He wasn't supposed to _actually_ like her. Why was this happening to him? Was it because she didn't even try to look like a normal girl?

The door opened and in came Doctor Keirei with Dariru following him. Suigetsu felt a little relieved that she was here again instead of going to his blue superior, but the boy quickly pushed away the thought. He had watched enough movies to know that getting attached was a bad thing; a _very_ bad thing. The last thing he needed was to feel guilty or broken when he had finally accomplished his goal.

"Alright Suigetsu," the doctor breathed, looking exhausted as he put on a stethoscope, "where do you feel pain?"

"You mean besides everywhere?" he remarked, but cleared his throat embarrassingly at the glare Dariru was giving him. "Uh...my nose is broken…you can start there." The doctor stood in front of the boy and gently grabbed either side of his face. The latex gloves felt weird against Suigetsu's skin as Keirei kept moving the boy's head at different angles, gathering as much information about the broken area as possible. The boy sucked in air sharply when a gloved finger decided to gingerly touch the obvious bump on the ridge of the nose.

A small grunt came from the doctor before he warned, "Okay. I'm going to realign your nose on the count of three. Ready?" Suigetsu nodded and closed his eyes, getting ready to brace himself for the pain.

"One."

_CRELACK!_

The sudden shifting of the bone made the trainee howl in pain and yank his head out of the doctor's hands. A slew of curses and insults same from his mouth and the doctor just stood there, waiting patiently for him to stop yelling. When the boy sat up straight he hollered, "I thought it was on three!?"

"The procedure turns out better if performed unexpectedly," The doctor gave him a smile. "Now, where else do you hurt?"

"You're not gonna pop anything back into place, are you?" Suigetsu asked suspiciously, catching Dariru smirk in amusement at his words.

"Not unless it's broken," without warning, the older man shoved the diaphragm of the stethoscope under the boy's shirt. The sudden cold made him suck in a deep breath as goose-bumps formed on his arms. He was really starting to hate this doctor. The man moved the device from the heart to the lungs, making the boy unconsciously breathe deeper. "Could you take a deep breathe Suigetsu-san?" he requested. Suigetsu nodded, took a deep breath and felt his ribs pop painfully.

A groan of pain escaped the trainee even when he breathed out. He had no idea Kisame had kicked him that hard. "Are my ribs broken?" he groaned out; now breathing was a bit of a painful task ever since the rib popped.

The doctor kept the stethoscope on his rib when he spoke, "Probably. But there's nothing we can do about it if it is, except give you something to ease the pain as they heal." He yanked the device out of the boy's shirt and made his way to his medical bag. "Dariru-san?" The girl perked up at the mention of her name. "Could you go get a bag of ice for Suigetsu-san?" She nodded and left the infirmary, making the boy grumble in disappointment.

"Take two of these a day," Doctor Keirei instructed as he handed the trainee a neon orange bottle full of pills. "One when you wake up and one before you go to sleep. You can take one today if the pain in unbearable, but the ice pack Dariru-san's getting should be enough for you to sleep comfortably for tonight."

Suigetsu couldn't help but roll his eyes at the doctor's sudden subtly, "Thanks."

* * *

How shall this turn out!? Find out! Review!


	29. Chapter 29

Anyway, I discovered a blood-relative of mine. She's way shorter than me but we are definitely blood-related. So we're sorta sticking together right now. Ugh. But this one chick, Stephanie keeps giving me the stink-eye and she's real ugly so it makes it even scarier for me LOL. As mean as it sounds but I think she's insecure around me, becuase her boyfriend is the guy I used to like who's actually pretty hot and it's kind of 'WTF' and she's well... and I'm so gifted! LOL. But everyone except her knows he's only with her becuase she's an easy fuck. XD

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Dariru found her way back to the kitchen, surprised to find Ishiko sitting alone on the counter.

"Ishiko-chan?" Dariru piped, continuing her business and getting an ice pack from the freezer. Ishiko looked up blinking a couple of times and looking back at the ground.

"Didn't expect you, Dariru-chan." Dariru looked around real quick, wondering why the feral dog- err, Kakuzu wasn't looming behind her like she always seemed to find him. Ishiko chuckled and Dariru looked back her, probably with a huge question mark printed on her forehead.

"He thinks I'm in the bathroom, he still hasn't caught on I'm a spy." Ishiko smiled, swinging her legs back and forth, nicking the cupboard doors beneath the counter. Dariru sighed, smiling ever so slightly. She looked at her pregnant friend again, raising the ice pack above her eyes.

"Kisame-san beat Suigetsu to a pulp. Now I'm the one who has to take care of him and…" Dariru drifted, Ishiko bent forward, a questioning look on her face.

"And what?" She didn't like Suigetsu, but that was strictly Dariru's business not hers. Dariru's eyes shifted and the icepack lowered to her thigh.

"Kisame-san doesn't like it very much, we had a small fight." Ishiko closed her mouth tightly. So that's what the demon was up to. Ishiko had suspected foul play between the two swordsmen, but she had been so busy she hadn't bothered to look into it. This was proof now. Suigetsu had to be eliminated. Ishiko raised a hand, telling Dariru she was finished talking.

"Stay here." She couldn't risk any harm to her baby, so she came up with the only way she could teach Suigetsu a lesson. Ishiko jumped off the counter and started striding where she assumed the white-haired freak was.

"Wait, Ishiko-chan where-!?" Dariru started, running right after the girl but she was already performing hand signs and soon Ishiko disappeared in a flicker but then two Ishiko's appeared. Dariru blinked, trying to figure out what Ishiko was going to do. One of the Ishiko's turned back to face Dariru while the other continued.

"Dariru you and I both know how this should be taken care of." Ishiko said steadily and Dariru's eyes widened. Ishiko too?? No, even for Ishiko that was way too far and simple.

"Ishiko-chan you can't-!" Ishiko ignored the girl, and lifted her hand, striking her in the neck just before she could protest. This had to be done, and soon, Dariru would be thanking her for it.

---

Ishiko's eyes scanned back and forth, already making a game plan on how she should warn the white-haired punk that Dariru was Kisame's and would always be. The infirmary came into view and she saw Keirei apparently lecturing Suigetsu on something, but the boy didn't even seem to be listening. He kept rolling those purple eyes and shrugging every now and then. She walked over and slammed the door open, nearly breaking the glass on the door. Suigetsu and Keirei both whipped their heads around to take a good look at the girl. Keirei was first to speak, as usual spouting more medical crap on how Ishiko should be resting rather than slamming doors open, but Ishiko was only glaring at Suigetsu now.

"You son of a bitch, you think you're so slick don't you?" Ishiko took a step towards the boy and he immediately knew he was in trouble. Ishiko threw a powerful punch towards him but he tried to dodge –not quick enough- and Ishiko only punched him in his injured shoulder, making Suigetsu shout on pain and grab at his shoulder like it was on fire. Keirei started to shout but Ishiko grabbed Suigetsu by the shirt and threw him to the ground. Suigetsu grunted and opened his eyes in time to roll to the side in order to dodge a stab by Ishiko's Haitsuchi Suitoru technique. Ishiko tried to kick him but her foot was caught by the quick Suigetsu and lifted her up with all his strength-even pulling out her Haitsuchi- and threw her through the glass, not even caring for a split second that she was pregnant.

"Ishiko-san!! Holy Shit!!" Keirei shouted with urgency. The broken and shattering of glass created a mist of shards and Deidara emerged from the hallway, curious on what had happened. His eyes widened and he grabbed his head when he saw a grunting and bleeding Ishiko rise from the glass-covered ground. Her wounds glowed bright green and healed up, making Suigetsu look at her with surprise.

"You're such an amateur." She smirked at him Suigetsu winced from his bleeding-yet again- wound and Ishiko took the chance to throw a kunai at him. But he morphed into water and the kunai kept on going, Keirei yelped and ducked just in time for Ishiko to break the other glass window.

"Ishiko!! My God what's gotten into you!? Un!!" Deidara cried out but Ishiko ignored him. Suigetsu had to learn his lesson. For Kisame's sake. Ishiko stood up, leveling herself, and searching for Suigetsu's little puddle but only to find it was nowhere in sight. Her eyes narrowed and she looked around her. _Not in fronts… not on the side… not behind me… leaves one other option… _she looked up to see a half-formed Suigetsu smirked right at her with a kunai in hand.

"You're not too pro either." Suigetsu teased. The boy did his best to ignore the pain in his shredded shoulder, but when he lunged at the girl the pain became so excruciating that he missed his target completely and landed on his knees. A furious battle cry came from Ishiko as she bent down to re-break his nose. With one quick motion, the boy evaded the attack and used the kunai knife to slice open her stomach. A loud gasp rose among the onlookers the moment the knife penetrated her skin, but instead of seeing a mass of organs spill out on the floor, a cloud of smoke blinded the boy.

He coughed and waved a hand at the dispersing smoke when Doctor Keirei went rushing to the boy's side. "What the hell was that?" the doctor gasped as he helped the injured boy up.

"A fucking shadow clone," Suigetsu wheezed angrily. He had just gotten beaten up not only by a _pregnant_ girl, but by her _shadow clone_! Either she was strong, or the sparring match had really worn him down. The doctor helped the boy to the paper-covered bed to fix up his old and new wounds.

"Suigetsu-teme," Ishiko's voice growled from outside the infirmary. Suigetsu looked at her through the broken glass door and saw the pregnant girl standing there defiantly with a pissed off Kakuzu standing behind her, carrying an unconscious Dariru. "You keep away from Dariru-chan! The only person she wants to be with is Kisame-san, so stop trying to interfere!" The pregnant girl pried something out of Dariru's hands and said, "By the way, here's your fucking ice pack," before throwing a bag full of ice at the boy. He was able to duck out of the way of the projectile and watched as the girl lead her stitched dog away. Deidara gave Suigetsu a dangerous glare that made the blonde actually look like a man before storming out of the infirmary.

The Swordsmen trainee bared his pointed teeth and couldn't help but let out a small snarl. He was still frustrated that he had been beaten by a shadow clone, but was angrier at the fact that Kisame had supporters. Had the blue man sent Ishiko out to kill him as to not raise Dariru's suspicions? No, that was low, even for Kisame. Then again, he didn't know how far his superior would go to keep Dariru at his side…

No, it didn't matter if Kisame had sent Ishiko or not, he refused to stop talking to Dariru just because a _girl_ told him to!

---

A knock came from the door, but Kisame didn't even bother getting up to open it; in fact, the man didn't even budge from the bed he was laying on when he hollered, "It's open!" The moment he saw Ishiko enter his room he let out a grumble and closed his eyes, figuring she was looking for Dariru. "Dariru-san is in the infirmary Ishiko-san. If you wanna talk to her, go there." He knew he sounded rude at the moment, but he was too irritated right now to care about manners.

The impact of her hand on his arm made the blue man sit up threateningly as she snapped, "If you'd open your eyes, you'll see she's not there anymore!" He glared at her before noticing Kakuzu entering the room with an unconscious Dariru slumped in his tan arms. Immediately, Kisame stood up and went to the man, concern taking over the angry thoughts that had clouded his mind just moments ago.

"What happened?" He asked as soon as he had taken his lover from Kakuzu.

"I couldn't have her getting in the way," Ishiko explained as she watched the blue man set the girl gently on his bed. "So I knocked her out."

"Get in the way of what?" The blue man snapped, doing his best to restrain himself from lunging at the girl. Kakuzu noticed the small hostility emitting from the other man and stood behind Ishiko defensively.

"Of me beating up Suigetsu-teme." The moment the words came out of her mouth Kisame calmed down. "Give her some slack Kisame-san. She may not even realize that Suigetsu-teme even likes her." The pregnant girl grabbed her lover's hand and left Kisame alone with Dariru. Kisame glanced back to see Ishiko give one last glance, with narrowed eyes –obviously pissed of she still lost the fight- and slammed the door tightly.

---

"You're mad." Kakuzu mused, watching Ishiko take long and pounding strides towards their room. Ishiko didn't look but he could visibly see the large amount of chakra she was unconsciously concentrating to her fists.

"Of course I am. I can't stand home-wreckers." Ishiko growled and Kakuzu noticed this may have been the first time she was actually letting such anger show. She had always been this composed and well-adjusted girl he loved. But now this side of Ishiko had completely contradicted everything he ever thought of her. But the fact she knowingly lost the battle, the fact she will never win because at this point she was pregnant, and she was unrelieved wasn't helping either. Everything just didn't seem to be going her way. Her hands tightened on his and she seemed to be running now.

"You shouldn't be straining yourself." He warned cautiously.

"Screw that. I'm not a delicate flower." She looked back, but then looked forward yet again, not able to fully look at him in the eyes. She never liked the idea she was this weak little thing to be taken care of. She wasn't his pathetic little girlfriend or some pet cat. Ishiko was something more to him, and she knew it. Kakuzu apparently, didn't think the same way as her and grabbed her by her waist, careful as to not harm her stomach in anyway and pulled her close to him.

"You have no idea." He said lowly but Ishiko grunted in disgust.

"I'm not your silly little girlfriend you knocked up Kakuzu." She snarled but he just continued walking. Kakuzu glanced up at her, a little irritated by her tone. But she was always the type to not want to be viewed as this weak little thing. She hated the way people stereo-typed women, and the ones who made it easy to stereo-type. So he let this one slip by him for now. She eventually gave up after a few 'I'm-ignoring-you-right-now' looks from her tall lover and sighed while setting her elbow a little too roughly on his shoulder. But she was directing her anger on the wrong subject. She was pissed at the white-haired invader. Not Kakuzu.

"That Suigetsu has got to have a weakness other than physically." Ishiko thought aloud. Kakuzu hummed in response to her and she glanced down.

"Don't you think? He's got to report to somebody, or have somebody he's scared of." For a moment she thought of Pein, but she figured he exactly wasn't it. After all he was everybody's boss, but it wasn't like you couldn't help but to be a little frightened of him, if not annoyed by him. It had to be somebody else. Maybe that Karin girl, but she figured she wasn't it either. Watching his small interaction with her, and his attitude about girls, there was no way somebody like Suigetsu would report to a girl. And he didn't seem like a hypocrite.

"We know he's got a thing for Dariru-chan, but that may be only because of the whole stupid Seven Swordsmen rivalry." Ishiko nodded but kept thinking. She didn't even notice as Kakuzu set her down on his bed, turning around to pull his cloak off and set it on the headboard.

"That may be how it started. But even I have a small girl-crush on Dariru-chan." Ishiko confessed. Kakuzu whipped his head around to look at her but she seemed to be in cloud nine. His eye brow twitched in irritation. Not only did the doctor, Kisame and Suigetsu have a thing for Dariru. But now even his fiancé admitted to have a more-than-friendly interest in the girl.

"It's kind of hard not to. Not to mention she's a great kisser-"

_SLAM!! _

Ishiko blinked and looked to find Kakuzu had locked himself in the bathroom.

"Need any help in there!?" Ishiko laughed. She crawled on the bed and set her hands on the end board, tilting her head ever so slightly. He couldn't be pissed.

"Just get some sleep." She could hear Kakuzu grumble from the other side of the door. She smirked and crawled back to her spot, giggling to herself.

"I still got it."

* * *

Just in case you couldn't tell, she got Kakuzu hard and he didn't want to go down on her so he's forced to go to the bathroom to have 'alone' time. I like the word 'confess' for some reason. Confess! Confess! Confess? CONFESS!!


	30. Chapter 30

It's getting as cold as fuck. I'm going to go shopping tomorrow and I'm defnitely going to get some cute shirts and maybe a couple of jeans, and plus I need to shop for Christmas presents for my family. Ugh. I hate ASL right now. There's so many words I have to learn! -signs-

* * *

Chapter 30

Doctor Keirei rubbed his temple, trying to relax himself at what had just happened. The white-haired boy—apparently named "Suigetsu"—was lying in his own bed with blankets covering most of his injured body. The doctor had to add more bandages and had to relocate a few bones into their proper sockets before he could let the boy take his new medication and relax. He was glad he didn't show his small interest in Dariru openly; otherwise he could end up like Suigetsu, or worse. In fact, the only thing that might be saving his skin right now was that he was treating Ishiko and her unborn child. Good thing it was only a small case of lust that he had been feeling for the younger girl other than full-blown love. Though, this situation now was a bit of a predicament for the doctor's schedule. He couldn't treat Ishiko _and_ watch over Suigetsu at the same time; not unless the organization was willing to let one suffer from extreme pain. At first Keirei was inclined to ask Dariru to keep tabs on the boy, since he was kidnapped to take care of the pregnant girl, but after the battle in the infirmary he was afraid to. He didn't want another fight going on only because he didn't want to have to treat any more people. Just watching over Ishiko was an exhausting job as it is with that savage man of hers looming over her like some sort of demon.

But there was no other way. He had to ask Dariru to watch over the white-haired boy, even if everyone else was against it; unless there was someone else that the organization's leader had to offer for help. Then again, he really didn't want to meet the boss of all of these criminals. Surely the man was an intimidating sight to behold, and Doctor Keirei wasn't sure if he could keep his composure if he were to talk to such a being. _That settles it then, _The doctor grumbled to himself, _I'll just have to ask Dariru-san to help._

"Hey, old man," Suigetsu slurred, the drugs he had taken obviously taking its toll, "How long am I gonna be here?" His purple eyes were practically hidden from his drooping eyelids when Doctor Keirei turned to look at him.

"At least until your ribs are healed. We wouldn't want to puncture a lung if you overexert yourself." He explained with a fake smile plastered on his face. The boy grumbled and rolled his head to the side, facing away from the doctor. Keirei went up to the boy's side and stated, "Suigetsu-san, I need you to promise me something."

The boy didn't bother to look at the man, "What is it?"

"I'm going to ask Dariru-san to take care of you when I'm busy with Ishiko-san." At that statement, Suigetsu's head rolled back over to look at the doctor with half-closed eyes. "But," Doctor Keirei raised a finger, "you have to promise that you'll behave around he, and not cause another fight. Okay?" The boy nodded before his eyelids completely closed and he fell into the drug-induced sleep. Keirei smiled at the sleeping patient and made his ay out of his room. When he opened the door, he was face-to-face with a handsome young man. "Oh, excuse me," Keirei said, thinking that this boy was also part of the organization.

The boy had raven hair that was spiked up in the back, onyx eyes that were set in a glare, and a blank face that made Keirei think he was going to kill him on the spot. The boy peered into the room, completely ignoring the fact that the older man was in the way, and asked in a monotone voice, "Is Suigetsu in there?"

"Yes, but he just fell asleep," The man informed him.

The boy gave him an impatient glare, "Will you tell me when he wakes up? I need to have a talk with him."

"Of course."

And with that, the raven-haired boy walked away. Doctor Keirei scoffed at the boy's rudeness and shook his head. "This place is full of strange people…"

---

It was the throbbing in the back of her head that awoke Dariru from her unwilling slumber. The moment she tried to sit up, the room began spinning uncontrollably, making her fall back on the soft pillow. _What the hell happened?_ She mused to herself, her hand rubbing the side of her throbbing head as she tried to remember the events that lead to her unconsciousness. _Ishiko got mad at Suigetsu…I think she was going to go beat the shit out of him…I sort of tried to stop her, but then everything went black…and now I'm here; wherever "here" may be…._The girl tried to look around, but every time she tried to move her head the room would spin to the point where she felt like throwing up. She had no idea Ishiko could hit so hard.

The sound of an opening door made Dariru will herself to at least _try_ to sit herself up. Very slowly, she pushed herself up with her elbows and raised her head slowly. The room continued to spin, even when she was propping herself up on her elbows, and was soon pushed back down gently by a large hand. When the nauseas spinning had ceased, Dariru could finally see that Kisame was sitting by her side with a concerned look on his face.

"You feeling okay?" He asked, cupping one side of her face with his hand. Dariru smiled inwardly at the touch, feeling happy that he wasn't too mad at her from their little argument. Then again, this sing of compassion may only last for a short time. But she didn't dwell on that fact for long.

"Head hurts," She admitted, "but I'll be okay." She heard him growl and even saw the corner of his mouth twitch in a frown. Immediately she raised her hand to touch the one that held her face and rubbed his fingers reassuringly. "I'm okay Kisame. Really."

"No more honorifics I see," he mumbled.

Guilt stabbed at Dariru and she bit the inside of her cheeks. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have gotten that mad at you…" The hand that was on her cheek shifted over to her mouth and covered it.

"Don't be." He said sternly before leaning forward to kiss her forehead. His hand slid off of her mouth only to be replaced by his lips. She was glad that the kiss was short and sighed happily when he rested his forehead on hers; she wasn't sure if she would be able to please him fully if he had continued with the kiss. Not that she didn't mind the sex they had, but this little sign of gentleness from him was just as good.

Dariru nibbled on her lower lip before saying quietly, "I'm still gonna have to take care of Suigetsu-san."

"I know..." he mumbled, breathing deeply as if it were difficult for him to say his next words. "And I'll try not to get too jealous...it's my fault that you have to take care of him anyway." Dariru gave him a suspicious look but he looked away, kissing her again and pulling away, leaving her longing to be near him again. That was understandable. But at least right now things were civil. She was accepting him and that was more than Kisame could ask for at this point and he really wanted to keep things that way as long as he could. Kisame sucked in a long breathe.

"Just…" Dariru sat up again, grabbing his cloak to keep from falling down and he grabbed her wrists in return, keeping her head steady like he would a baby. She was just as precious.

"Just…?" Dariru pressed. Kisame stared at her a little, wanting to take in the very detail of the way her hair carved out her face. He ducked his head down, right beside her neck and laid down butterfly kisses, distracting her for a moment.

"Just don't forget about me, got it?" Kisame's lip twitched in the corner and smiled softly. Dariru returned it and nodded.

"Of course not." She answered and leaned up to kiss him but failed because of her spinning head and kissed the pillow instead. Kisame blinked and sighed, laughing slightly and pulled the covers over her, allowing her to rest and sleep of that pounding head ache he knew she had. A knock at the door made him whip around and glare viciously at the door. Dariru turned and groaned but Kisame set a hand on her protruding hip, stilling her and keeping her from rolling right off the bed. Giving her a quick peck on her cheek, assuring her he would return, he got up and slammed the door open a small slit, enough to see the pathetic doctor flinch and give a small smile, revealing plain white teeth.

"What?" Kisame snarled, not really wanting to deal with anybody right now. Especially the annoying doctor. Keirei coughed into his hand, clearing his throat and straightened his posture. Obviously it was news he knew Kisame didn't want to hear.

"In order to continue my business and focus strictly on Ishiko, I cannot waste any time with Suigetsu. So I came to ask if Dariru would kindly help and assist in his care until either he gets better or Ishiko gets another doctor because I cannot juggle the two." Keirei explained tiredly. Kisame glared. What? Was this doctor so unskilled he could only take care of one patient at a time? But Dariru had already said she would take care of Suigetsu, so there was no use in pressing on about the matter.

"She's already decided to keep on taking care of that brat." Sure calling Suigetsu a brat really wasn't required. But it felt good to say it without having to get a dirty look from Dariru since she was passed out. Keirei looked at him again and nodded in gratitude.

"Good day then." Keirei bowed slightly and turned on his heel, heading the opposite direction. A small snort came from Kisame before he closed the door quietly. He made his way back to Dariru and next to her on the edge of the bed, his hand gently petting her short hair. She turned her head to look up at him with half-closed eyes.

"Who was it?" She murmured as sleep began to slowly shut down most of her systems.

"Doctor Keirei," Kisame explained, "he wants you to help tend to Suigetsu…_san_." It took every amount of willpower he had to not use "teme" at the end of the boy's name.

"Okay," she nuzzled her head into the pillow and closed her eyes. "You'll join me soon, right?"

"Yeah," he said just as her breathing became slow and steady, indicating that she had fallen asleep. The man pulled his hand away and placed a small kiss on her ear. How he would be able to restrain himself from constantly checking up on Dariru when it was time for her to take care of Suigetsu still remained a mystery to Kisame. He pushed the thought aside and made his way back to the training room to work off the stress.

Sasuke entered Suigetsu's room the moment the doctor had left. Sure enough, his white-haired follower was sleeping soundly in bed with bandages wrapped around his chest and shoulder. He glared at the injuries, angry that his follower had gone against his orders once more. _Dumb ass…_Sasuke scolded him inside of his head; _he deserves those injuries after I told him not to start anything in the organization. _The whole point of joining the Akatsuki was to smite Itachi; to tell him that they were just as powerful as he was now, if not stronger. But now Sasuke and his three followers were no longer on the leader's good side since Suigetsu decided to start that fight with the blue man. Though Sasuke hadn't actually seen the fight, he was quite sure his follower had started it. Yet, as he kept staring at Suigetsu's wounds he couldn't help but feel angered by the blue man. He didn't like seeing his teammates getting this seriously injured. It only led to painful memories of friends in Team Seven.

A small smirk crossed Sasuke's face at the thought of seeing the blue man's face when the leader decides to chew him out for hurting one of his fellow Akatsuki teammates. He'd make sure to visit Suigetsu and tell him all about it. The raven-haired boy shook his follower until he woke up. Suigetsu glared sleepily at him, not caring for a split second that it was Sasuke that he was glaring at.

"Whaaaat?" Suigetsu whined, doing his best to stay awake.

"You idiot," Sasuke scolded like a mother, "I told you not to start any fights!"

Another whine came from the injured boy, "Gad damn it Sasuke, this was why you woke me up? To tell me what a bad boy I was for breaking your rule? Couldn't you have waited until tomorrow?"

The infamous Uchiha smirk graced the boy's lips, "And let you be in peace? I think not." Suigetsu's head rolled away from his superior, who just snatched his chin and yanked his head back to look at him. "Why did you start the fight?"

"I didn't start the fight. It was just a sparring match gone out of control." Suigetsu mumbled, trying to pull his head out of Sasuke's grip.

"Don't give me that bullshit," he hissed impatiently. He was mad enough as it was at his follower, and the white lies were just making his mood worse. "What did you do to make that shark-man angry?"

Suigetsu was quiet, upset that his lie hadn't worked. "I told him that his girl was checkin' me out." The white-haired boy finally admitted, figuring he'd be able to pass out sooner if he just told the truth.

Onyx eyes narrowed into a disbelieving glare, "Since when did you decide to follow your testosterone? I thought you weren't interested in women?"

An annoyed grumble came from the follower, "I like women, I just don't like it when they're apart of a mission. Oh, and I'm not too fond of serious relationships."

"So, why even make a comment about his woman?"

"To piss him off!" The boy practically hollered in frustration; he just wanted to go back to sleep. "I mean, if I can't take Samehada from him, then I might as well take away Dariru." Sasuke furrowed his brow in thought at the name; he knew he had heard it before, but he was having trouble putting a face to the name. Was she the one with long hair or short hair? He shook the thought aside, not really caring who she was anyway. "Can I go to sleep now?" Suigetsu whined, "It's making my eyelids hurt."

"Fine," Sasuke sighed, releasing his follower's chin. "But we're not done yet." However, the warning went unheard as the white-haired boy slipped into his slumber. Sasuke shook his head and walked out of the boy's room. Suigetsu's need to make this blue shark-man miserable seemed to be as strong as Sasuke's need to kill Itachi. And he of all people knew how badly vengeance possessed individuals until it was satisfied. _I'll let him continue this chase, _Sasuke decided, _however, I'll make sure to keep close tabs on him. I don't want him to start another fight that would anger the leader._

* * *

_Now that that's taken care of, I can reveal more of what's going on. Since now I don't have to worry aboout spoiling anything, I can reveal all I can! Mwaahahahahahahaha! _


	31. Chapter 31

I feel some need to insert humor in this story, but at this point I really find no room to. But I personally love the drama, its like a better version of a soap opera. What do you think? Oh... I think Cheeky-Half Demon will hate me soon.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-One

Ishiko groaned, feeling her stomach churn and twist inside her as she carefully rubbed it lightly with her fingers. Kakuzu snapped awake, feeling Ishiko writhe and starting making circles on the creamy-almond belly. She needed his care now more than ever, with her pregnancy her very life may be in danger. Because of her disease her body was slowly but surely shutting down; and there could possibly be nothing he could do about it. Her mind was decaying and this baby was putting a strain on what health was left of her body. She may never admit it, but he knew. He could always see it in her eyes, and since he learned of her disease, it was a realization of the impending fate.

"Is that better? Do you need to go to the bathroom?" He asked, even though he knew she may have not gotten a word of what he said in her drowsiness.

"I think so…" She responded. Kakuzu nodded and lifted the covers off of her, and giving her some space to get out on her own, if he didn't with her new mood swings she would sulk about how she couldn't do things on her own anymore. The baby was already hurting her ego as a kunoichi, and he didn't want her to have any more reasons to look down upon herself. He glanced at the clock; it was already 3:47. Kakuzu rubbed his eyes, he was really losing a lot of sleep, but not that he was really upset over his "beauty sleep" if it was making sure Ishiko was okay.

She turned on the light in the bathroom and he decided to stay awake, he wanted to make sure she didn't trip or anything. He turned on his side and watched as she carefully tied back her hair and sat, waiting for her nausea to come. It has been two days since the incident of Ishiko beating the snot out of Suigetsu and it didn't take an idiot like Tobi to notice the obvious strain between the two. Ishiko would often visit Dariru in the infirmary but Suigetsu and Ishiko would only glare at each other while trying to keep Dariru focused on them. It was like watching two girls fight for a boy's attention, but it was Dariru, so it was a completely different ballgame of emotions.

In the end, Kakuzu had to pay for the broken glass Ishiko had broken at Suigetsu's expense of skin. He only kept his mouth shut because Ishiko seemed so pissed about the matter in which she had broken the glass and didn't really feel like having her relive the emotions. Yesterday he made the mistake of bringing Suigetsu up while she was brushing his hair –she suddenly felt that something should be done about it- and she was brushing so roughly he felt like half of his follicles were ripping out of his scalp.

"You know what today is right?" Kakuzu asked and Ishiko looked at him, a confused but tired look on her face.

"What?" She asked and Kakuzu felt himself smirk.

"The end of your first three months, according to the doctor." Kakuzu said, and, from what information Keirei had given him, the end of her first trimester and the start of her second. Ishiko just looked at him for a second and then down at her abdomen. She had started to show slightly, or at least she could tell and every time she asked Kakuzu he just looked at her like she was imagining things. But this time, she will start showing.

"I guess morning sickness wouldn't be much of a problem but me bumping into things." She said while sighing. She was barely fifteen weeks pregnant and she just wanted to show already. She hated the fact she had no proof except vomiting in the morning on being pregnant. She had already gone two months of not even knowing she was pregnant, and another whole month of strain to protect it and dealing with the fact of taking pain killers for her Huntington's. Kakuzu lifted the sheets off him and swung his bare legs over the edge of the bed, revealing his bare chest and arms.

"You won't bump into things, I'll be directing you." Kakuzu promised making Ishiko chuckle and glance over, her brown orbs looking over his body once more before turning suddenly to puke.

"If you weren't pregnant I'd assume your vomiting because of my looks." Kakuzu thought a loud, running a stitched hand through his hair. Ishiko was too busy to respond to his comment.

---

Dariru walked through the kitchen, in the past two days she had set her alarm clock to go off at 3 a.m., roughly the time Ishiko awoke to vomit and after that, with an empty stomach, she came to awake Dariru to prepare the usual breakfast of hash browns with mayonnaise topping. She had left Kisame to sleep; she didn't need to keep him up when he was already losing sleep over his worry for her safety when near Ishiko. Because if Dariru was near Ishiko, it was guaranteed she was near Kakuzu as well, and after the time he went after her for a small comment, Kisame has been worried since. The girl took out a skillet and set it on the stove before gathering the rest of the needed ingredients. She huddled near the stove, letting the growing warmth of the burner start to slowly awaken her senses. It took her a while to become fully awake and function normally, but at least the groggy feeling of an early awakening had passed. The kitchen's silence made her feel self-conscious of her every action, hoping the sizzling of the cooking hash browns wouldn't wake anybody. While she waited for the food to finish cooking, Dariru started making coffee, figuring Kakuzu was going to drink at least four cups. She was sure Ishiko would drink just as much as her lover if she were allowed to.

The moment the hash browns were done, Ishiko walked into the room with a tired Kakuzu following her. Both of them seemed to have black lines starting to develop beneath their eyes, indicating their lack of sleep. _Their sleep patterns will get worse by the time the baby's born, _Dariru thought to herself as she moved the food from the skillet to a plate. From she had heard couples don't get a lot of sleep at night because the baby cries so often or just won't fall asleep. The girl handed the plate and a bottle of mayonnaise to her pregnant friend, who just gave her a grateful and tired smile.

"Thank you," she mumbled before taking the bottle of mayonnaise and squirting a large amount onto the hash browns.

Dariru turned to a half-awake Kakuzu and said, "Coffee's almost ready in case you need any." His only response was a tired grunt; the only thing that was probably keeping him awake was his need to be around his lover should anything bad happen to her. The short-haired girl waited for her friend to finish eating before trying to start a small conversation, "So, are you excited for your check-up?"

Ishiko gave her friend a small glare, "Not really…unless the doc's gonna tell me I won't be throwing up every fucking morning anymore."

The coffee machine gurgled out the last drops of its warm liquid. Dariru went to the cupboard to get a mug, but Kakuzu just grumbled out, "Don't bother. Just give me the pot." The girl looked at the man disbelieving, but his unwavering look told her he was serious. She shrugged before grabbing the pot and handing it to him. Without even waiting for it to cool off the stitched man tilted his head back and began to chug down mouthfuls of hot coffee. By the time half of the pot was empty Kakuzu decided to stop for air and to let the cold air soothe his burning mouth.

Ishiko pushed aside her plate and turned to Dariru, "Could I have some orange juice and pepper?"

"No problem," the girl answered before going to the refrigerator to grab the orange juice container. She set the carton on the table before going to fetch a glass and the pepper shaker. The moment the items were on the table, the pregnant girl went to work on the drink she craved. She covered the entire bottom of the glass with pepper before filling it with orange juice. She took a sip and added more pepper before being satisfied with its taste. While Kakuzu began to calmly drink the coffee, Ishiko chugged down her glass until it was empty. When it was empty, she refilled the glass, adding the preferred amount of pepper, and drank it all. Dariru watched the two idly, after washing Ishiko's plate, and began to slightly doze off. The girl shook her head and forced herself to stay awake. It was always like this every morning; she would get over it eventually.

By the time Kakuzu had finished the entire pot of coffee, his lover had drank the entire carton of juice and only a small amount of pepper remained in the shaker. The pregnant girl sighed and glared at her glass. "Well, might as well wake the doctor and get this over with." She grumbled before pushing her seat out to stand up. Kakuzu followed her lead, and stayed as close as he could to her without getting in her way too much. However, the moment she started moving, the girl stumbled to the sink and hurled out the breakfast and drink she had just consumed. The stench made Dariru wrinkle her nose, but she kept quiet as her friend's body gave one more shudder before forcing the pregnant to vomit again. Kakuzu stood behind his woman, rubbing her back in circular motions slowly and gently.

Ishiko spat out the remaining leftovers in her mouth before turning on the faucet. Dariru got out another glass and handed it to her friend, who took it and filled it with water. Ishiko drank the water and swirled it around in her mouth before spitting it out. She repeated the process a few more times, making sure to get most of acid taste out of her mouth, and murmured, "Think you could come with us with a bucket Dariru-chan?"

The shorter-haired girl nodded, "No problem Ishiko-chan." _I still have a few more hours to clean up before anybody wakes up anyway, _She decided in her head after glancing at the empty coffee pot and noticing the new acidic smell in the kitchen.

---

Ishiko had to lean on Kakuzu's strong forearm because her nausea was starting to make her dizzy, and Kakuzu kept insisting that she take a rest and he'd bring the doctor to see her instead, but she shook her head and waved her hands, looking at Dariru for help.

"I still have two arms to lean on. I'm fine." She smiled and Dariru almost chuckled at Ishiko's remained sense of humor. Kakuzu didn't laugh though, and the stiff man didn't even seem to crack a smile but stared at her seriously and concerned.

"You're in no condition-"

"I'm never in any condition. Doesn't stop me, let's go Dariru." Ishiko held out her arm and Dariru took it, avoiding Kakuzu's growing glare and Ishiko shifted her weight to lean on the shorter-haired girl. Kakuzu sucked in a quick breathe and Ishiko continued walking, glancing back at him with an expectant smile. He'd start to follow again eventually; it wasn't like he was just suddenly going to abandon her. Besides, he was incredibly predictable that way.

---

It was an unusual greeting this time; Dr. Keirei actually seemed extremely excited about this visit. He ushered the two girls into the room and shut the glass door behind them but two pairs of chocolate eyes stared at the new strange machine. Dr. Keirei chuckled and stood in front of it, setting his hand on it.

"Like it? It's one of the newest pieces of technology! Congratulations Ishiko we're going to do a sonogram!" Ishiko tilted her head in perfect sync with her friend and they both asked in perfect harmony, "What's that?" Keirei almost seemed shock the two didn't know what he was talking about.

"We'll create an image of your uterus using sound waves. We'll be able to see your baby!" Keirei exclaimed. A wide grin spread across Ishiko's lips and she grabbed Dariru's hand, and a hand shot up and she covered her smile right away.

"Well then let's get started!" Though she couldn't help but glance back to see through the glass into the hallway. She couldn't even see Kakuzu anymore, but he was probably doing something much more important, and she didn't want to interfere. Keirei directed her to lay on the mattress covered with a paper sheet and she obeyed, Dariru helping her onto her and making sure she was securely on. Keirei brought out some sort of tube and turned on the T.V screen.

"Care to lift your shirt?" Keirei asked, looking Ishiko in the eyes. But the girl's eyes furrowed in confusion and she looked at Dariru who only shrugged and stepped between her and the doctor.

"Why should she?" Dariru asked on Ishiko's behalf and Keirei smiled kindly.

"Because I have to apply this gel, it's for use of the device." Keirei pointed to the device that reminded Ishiko of an electric shaver. Dariru glanced back at Ishiko, wondering for her approval and Ishiko hesitated but nodded anyway. Dariru released her breathe and got out of the way, taking her now empty spot next to her friend and Keirei proceeded, lifting Ishiko's shirt only to the space directly under her breasts. The gel was cold, and Ishiko gasped and automatically Dariru grabbed her tan hand and leaned forward sneering at the doctor.

"This won't hurt her will it!?" Dariru asked on Kakuzu's behalf and for her own pure curiosity. Keirei's lips tightened into a thin line and he backed up a step.

"Of course not, I understand according to Ishiko's medical records she might have an extreme intolerance to pain, I wouldn't dare put her through something painful in her current state." Ishiko's eyes drooped. Why did everyone thing she was so delicate? She was a big girl now. But of course, they might know best, and if the doctor said she was in no condition, then she didn't trust her body to work as it was supposed to either. Dariru nodded and looked back at Ishiko with a reassuring smile. Keirei turned and started the machine up, and he pressed the device and spread the gel. And image came up and both girls' eyes were glued to the screen.

"Ah! There we go." Keirei was also looking at the screen, and he glanced back to make sure Ishiko and then to an empty space.

"Where…? Where is the father?" Keirei asked, finally noticing Kakuzu was nowhere in sight. Ishiko's eyes steadily made their way to her stomach and she stared hard, blinking and then sucking in a breathe.

"He didn't follow. He's just upset or sulking over something." Ishiko dismissed the matter and Dariru glanced at her. It must have been so painful for her. From what Dariru could understand, Ishiko didn't even want a baby. Having been abused by her Mother, it must have been hard to reproduce, emotionally. And now she was going through this alone.

"I'm here." Kakuzu walked in, opening the glass door and glaring at Dariru. Luckily she got the signal and moved out of the way making room for the tall man to take his place and gathered her hand in his, intertwining them. But Keirei wasn't watching, he was looking at the odd image in the screen.

"You two are very lucky. You should buy a lottery ticket." Keirei said, gaining everyone's attention. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Kakuzu demanded. Keirei smile at the couple and pointed to the images on the screen.

"You're going to have twins!" He cried out happily.

_THUD! _

"Kakuzu-san!"

"Kakuzu-san!"

"Kakuzu!"

* * *

Typical Daddy huh?


	32. Chapter 32

It's Christmas Break and I'm not sure what to do. I have only two weeks to do something and I've never felt so timed in my life. Except that one time when I had a timed test on my times tables and I had no idea what my times tables for all o my 11's, 9's, 8's, 7's, and 6's. God I was so stupid! 6x7 is obviously..... uh....

* * *

Chapter 32

Blurred shapes began to come into focus as if Kakuzu's eyes were a camera zoomed in too close to the desired target. Three dark oval shapes hovered over him as he tried to regain his consciousness, while familiar voices spoke around him even though he couldn't quite make out what the voices were saying. Someone began to caress the side of his face, and he immediately recognized it was Ishiko who was comforting him. He blinked as the ovals began to develop more detail and the noises the voices were making became clearer. Ishiko was the closest one hovering over him, her brown eyes large with concern. Her mouth was moving and he could just make out the words that were coming out of it.

"Are you okay?"

Kakuzu nodded and began to look around the now focused room. He was still in the infirmary, but by the looks of it, he was on the floor. As he began to prop himself up Doctor Keirei crouched next to him and placed a helping hand on his back. Kakuzu shrugged it off, ignoring the slight spinning of the room that had been caused by his head hitting the hard infirmary floor. "I'm fine," he mumbled, remembering what had caused him to fall in the first place. Twins. They were going to have _twins_. The stitched man rubbed his face, trying to wrap his mind around the news. He wasn't upset that they were going to have two kids born near the same time, but he was worried for himself. How was he going to be a good father to two kids? He thought he was going to have enough trouble trying to be a good dad to just _one_.

Doctor Keirei's voice pulled him out of his nervous thoughts. "Let me see the back of your head, Kakuzu-san." At first Kakuzu was going to protest; he didn't want this doctor touching any part of his body. But after seeing Ishiko's warning glare, he was able to tolerate the doctor's probing. The man sat behind Kakuzu, lifting up strands of his hair gently and ran a finger across his scalp. His fingers ran over a bump, making the reluctant patient clench his fists at the sudden pain. Keirei pulled the probing hand away and announced, "No bleeding, but there's a bump there. Dariru-san, could you please get an ice pack, please?"

"No problem," she chirped before dashing out of the infirmary.

When the girl left, Keirei continued to talk, "Well, the twins are in good condition. But I wasn't able to tell the gender just yet." Both Ishiko and Kakuzu looked at the doctor in questionable shock. "If you want, I can do the sonogram again and tell you."

Ishiko spoke first in awe, "You can tell us if they're boys or girls with that machine?"

"Yes." Ishiko looked at Kakuzu with the same amazed look on her face, asking him silently if he wanted to know too. The thought of finding out their babies' genders filled the stitched man with an unknown form of joy. He nodded eagerly at his lover and she immediately left his side to lie down on the paper-covered bed. Doctor Keirei tried to help Kakuzu up, but abandoned the criminal's side the moment he received a glare. He reapplied the gel onto Ishiko's exposed stomach and the black and white picture of the curled twins appeared on the screen. Kakuzu had to steady himself against his lover's bed to keep from falling again. That was their children; both of them curled up inside of the woman he loved the most. He was so caught up in the moment that he hadn't realized he had grabbed Ishiko's hand and had begun to rub her fingers gently.

"Give me a second," the doctor murmured as he stared intently at the screen, moving the device in his hand as needed. "Let's see…." A bright smile appeared on the man's face, "one's a boy!" Ishiko smiled and did her best to hold back her happy tears. "And the other is…well, how about that? The other one's a boy too!" She couldn't stop it; a few tears rolled down her cheeks as her grip tightened around Kakuzu's hand. For this moment, she had forgotten all the morning sickness, the disease she had, and the even the fact that Keisuke is alive. Right now, it was just herself, her lover and their two sons. It was perfect.

Keirei grinned at the smiling couple. "Congratulations you two." He said to the couple before taking the device off of her stomach. Neither of them protested, as Kakuzu was too busy staring at his joyful lover and Ishiko was too busy staring at her belly. The doctor got a glass of water ready for the girl and put the two drops of required opium in the drink. He set the medicine on the counter and said, "When you're ready, you can take the medicine." But it didn't seem either of them was paying attention to his words. Keirei shrugged, knowing this was normal behavior for a couple he had just seen their child on the sonogram.

It was then that Dariru entered the room with an ice pack in her hands. Before the girl could go the couple, Keirei ushered her over. "I'll give the ice pack to Kakuzu-san," he said in a low tone, taking the freezing pack from her hands. "It may be a while before those two decide to come back to the rest of the world." The short-haired girl grinned a little, looking over her shoulder at her friend. No doubt she was curious as to why they were so happy, but Keirei decided not to tell her the news. "Dariru-san?" he brought her attention back to him, her eyes wide with alert, "Could you go check up on Suigetsu-san? If he's awake, do the normal procedures." The girl nodded and, after one last look at her friend, left the infirmary.

---

The man growled and his face turned into a sneer, Itachi had his head bowed slightly but didn't dare to look up.

"Not even married. No decency that man…" Itachi's eyes shifted and his placed his hands from the floor to his thighs.

"I just found out recently myself." Itachi excused himself but the other male didn't seem to be satisfied with that either.

"Sasuke is in the base with them." Itachi assured but that didn't seem to give the man any comfort either. So he stayed quiet as he normally would have and the brunette stared out the window.

"Her body isn't capable of carrying children. It won't heal afterwards." He turned his angel-crafted face and it looked even more gruesome than before. His brown eyes underlined with dark lines indicating he had lost sleep worrying. His skin paler than usual from excessive use of chakra and poor diet.

"Keisuke-sama, what do you mean?" Itachi asked. Curious on what was ailing his superior.

"I mean if she has children, the creatures will rip her apart from the inside-out, and her body isn't capable of such strain and shall shut down on her. If she gives birth, most likely that'll be the last thing she does." Keisuke lifted a hand and covered his left eye, clenching his teeth together.

---

"Twins…" Ishiko murmured, holding her head close to Kakuzu's and he kissed her hair. She smiled and her thin lips tightened into a line, glancing back up at him she pecked him through the mask.

"I promise I won't tell Deidara-kun you passed out." Ishiko teased and Kakuzu only rolled his eyes.

"I'll deny it. For Deidara it'll be easy to believe that I didn't." Kakuzu assured and grabbed her hand, placing it in his while looking back at the glass of water and took it with his free hand.

"Now drink it." Kakuzu focused on getting her to feel better, joyful or not, it would help her with the pain. That was first priority. Ishiko nodded and grabbed the glass, but Kakuzu kept a firm grip on it.

"I'm here! Dariru told me our little Ishiko is going to be having _twins_!" Kakuzu mentally groaned. It sounded so off to him when it was said aloud. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to get used to the phrase. He looked at the blue-haired woman who smiled softly and waited for Ishiko to finish drinking the water and Kakuzu took the empty glass and set it down while Konan grabbed both of Ishiko's hands.

"Congratulations from myself and Leader-sama." Konan wished and Ishiko looked away, blushing and brushing a neck-long strand of hair. Keirei turned and blinked at the woman who had led him to the base and looked away instantly, afraid if he looked at her wrong that she'll do something harmful towards him.

"Thank you Konan-senpai." Ishiko smiled back and Konan laughed softly in embarrassment.

"Just wait until Deidara finds out. He'll pop a fucking blood vessel." Konan chuckled and Ishiko could have sworn a huge sweat drop ran down her and Kakuzu's head. But it really made her think. Deidara had been an older brother figure, watching over her as a child. The news that she was pregnant and using drugs must have exhausted him emotionally. The news that she was having _twins_ might give him an ulcer if anything. Kakuzu chuckled at the comment of Deidara stressing himself out and Ishiko elbowed him, signaling it wasn't a funny matter but a serious one. Should she even bother to tell her older brother's old best friend? Because if he founds out later than everyone else she feared he may even go into a shock-induced coma.

"It'll be fine Ishiko-chan. I'm sure Deidara might be more than happy to take care of one twin if the two become such a hassle for you two." Konan suggested and all color drained from Kakuzu's face that time. There was no way his son was going to be partially raised by a maniac like Deidara. Ishiko's 'brother' or not, he wasn't going to be allowed _near _his children. Ishiko laughed loudly and pushed herself up, wincing and Kakuzu automatically helped her get comfortable. Keirei coughed into his hand and all three shinobi looked at him.

"Since you will be having twins this may put a couple of changes in your pregnancy plans." Keirei said, running a hand through his mouse-brown locks. Ishiko leaned in earnestly and Kakuzu grabbed her hand in case they were going to be told any bad news because of this.

"Because of your… health…" Keirei glanced at Konan who didn't quite know of Ishiko's disease yet.

"It may put an even bigger strain to have twins. That's twice the amount of weight to put on, and twice the amount of stretching and strain." Ishiko nodded, ready to take on all of those challenges but Kakuzu was hesitant.

"On your third trimester you'll be put on strict bed rest and your opium will be increased to three drops once you start showing a little more because the extra weight might put a strain on your back and ankles." He grabbed a clipboard and started to write down different little things.

"I'm prescribing three drops of opium, strict bed rest starting on your last three months, and because of your…" He suddenly looked nervous and a light blush covered his cheeks and he glanced up at Kakuzu.

"Physical being and given cervix size…" Wait. Kakuzu knew that word. He was talking about Ishiko's tight walls. His eyes narrowed and Keirei looked even more nervous.

"I'm prescribing intercourse for the end of the second trimester and beginning of the third trimester." Keirei said almost so quickly Ishiko didn't understand at first. But thinking over it, her eyes widened and she looked back at Kakuzu. Keirei sighed gratefully and smiled again as if he had said nothing about prescribing sex.

"How will that help her?" Kakuzu asked. Of course he didn't mind the now necessary sex sessions between him and Ishiko, but he thought he may harm the babies given his size… Keirei scoffed and placed the clipboard on his hip bone.

"I'm sure it'll relieve her and because it'll help stretch so that when she delivers she won't 'tear'." Kakuzu lifted a hand, telling Keirei he didn't need to go on and Konan covered her mouth with a fist, trying to withhold her laughter of Ishiko hiding her eyes with her hair. The poor girl's vagina was in the conversation.

"Pay more attention to your words, speak of Ishiko in such a vulgar way again and I will kill you." Kakuzu glared.

---

Suigetsu's steady breathing let Dariru know he was asleep and she sighed in relief. Good. She didn't have to deal with his comments and sly remarks this time. The room was cold and she shivered, closing the door behind her she checked Suigetsu's status an she got a new roll of bandages from a newly built rolling island. Maybe she could apply his new bandages with him asleep? She dug around for a small staple as well.

"Why are you with him?" Suigetsu's voice made Dariru jump and she glanced back to see Suigetsu, half-naked, and sitting upright. He held his hands that were supported by his knees and his razor grin gleamed at her. She began to feel a little nervous from the sudden question; there was no doubt in her mind he was talking about Kisame. She didn't know if this was simple curiosity or the after-effects of the pain-killers he was taking.

Her hand finally found the little staple and she began to walk to the boy, her eyes focused on the bandages in her hands. "Because I love him." A small scoff escaped him, but the way she "accidentally" pushed her palm into his ribs made him stop his sarcastic gesture. The old bandages were off, revealing the fading purple and green bruise that was over his ribcage, and the healing cuts that had been caused by shards of glass.

As if her answer wasn't enough, he asked, "Well…_why_ do you love him?" She made sure he couldn't see the roll of her eyes.

But when the moment came to answer the question, she couldn't really think of anything. Why did she fall in love with him? _Because he's one of the Seven Swordsmen, _her mind answered. But was that the only reason? "Well," she started as she wrapped the boy's midsection with new bandaging, "for one thing, he knows his manners." The girl could feel Suigetsu shift uncomfortably at the words, probably because he knew he had virtually none at all. "He's a good fighter and an excellent swordsman." She paused, trying to find anymore reasons that didn't involve their sex life. "And he's…well…different. I like different."

"Is that all?" The boy pushed. There seemed to be a nagging tone to his voice. Like a mother whose child became less of what she wanted it to be.

Dariru used the staple to secure the end of the bandaging. "For now. But I'm sure I'm forgetting something."

"If it was important to you, you wouldn't have forgotten it in the first place." Suigetsu smirked. The girl had to suppress herself from slapping him across the face. What was this boy trying to pull? Of course she loved Kisame! Though she wasn't exactly sure why, but she did. She loved everything about him.

Without looking at him, Dariru stood up straight, turning towards the bathroom. "Do you want to take your pills now or later?" She made sure that her voice sounded annoyed.

Apparently, he caught the tone and clicked his tongue in defiance. "Don't get snippy with me. I'm just trying to help you."

"With what?" She turned on him as if he had insulted her in worse ways than Hidan.

A moment of fear flashed in Suigetsu's eyes before he glared defiantly at her. "Your relationship!"

"I'm perfectly happy with Kisame." She growled warningly.

"Really?" He questioned, "He seems to have a bit of a temper when it comes to you being around other men. Is that why he keeps you locked down here in the base? So no one else besides him can look or touch you?"

"No! I let myself stay down here. I don't go to the surface because I don't want to!" It was only half of a truth. She was quite sure that she could go to the surface if she asked the leader_ very_ rarely about it. But during that one day on the surface with Ishiko, Dariru felt so light and free. At first she had figured that she would be indifferent to everything, but it had been the opposite. She had wanted to stay up there, to stay warm in the sun's rays and have all sorts of different things happening at once. Now that she was back down in the familiar darkness, she wasn't sure if she'd ever regain the opportunity to leave it again. She may never see the light again. But in this darkness was her lover, Kisame; the man she had sacrificed everything for. As long as he was in this darkness, then she would stay in it too.

But Suigetsu's accusation made Dariru ponder. Kisame did seem more short-tempered ever since Doctor Keirei and Suigetsu arrived. Was her lover really keeping her down here just so no one else would know she even existed?

The white-haired boy grabbed her wrist and pulled her attention to him. "I can get you to the surface." She wanted to ask him how he could do that, he was a member of the Akatsuki after all, but the girl bit her tongue. Her place was below the surface now; wherever Kisame decided to stay, then she would be there. There was a sort of victorious gleam in the boy's eyes along with a pleading stare, apparently noticing something written on her face. "I swear I can get you out of here, Dariru. You've just got to leave Kisame and then—"

"No!" she yanked her wrist out of his hand and backed away as if he had slapped her. "I refuse to leave him!" _No matter how tempting the promise of the surface might be, _she added mentally.

Suigetsu looked at her in ashamed disappointment, "Of course not," he mumbled, "He must have your collar strapped on tight and your leash short in that kennel he keeps you in." At that comment, Dariru stormed out of the boy's room, making sure to slam the door loudly when she left. She completely understood what he had meant and it made her sick that he would say such a thing. Kisame would never keep her down here against her will! She was sure that if she asked him he would let her see the sun and trees again. _Of course, he'd make sure you were in his sights at all times, _her mind added. The girl grabbed the sides of her head and shook herself. "Shut up, shut up," she whispered aloud to herself, "He'd never do that to me! He'd leave me alone if I asked him to!"

_He never asks if you miss your family, _her mind hissed again, _or if you'd ever want to leave this dreary dungeon. The only thing he cares about is if you'll let him part your legs for the night._

"No!" she practically screamed, "He loves me! That's not the only thing he cares about! It's not…it's not…"

_Prove it, _she challenged herself.

"How?"

_Don't pleasure him. Kiss him, hug him, but don't have any form of intercourse. See how long he can go before he finally snaps. _Dariru nodded, agreeing that she would do just that. It'd be hard for her too, her lover always did seem to have ways to make her beg for him, but she had to do this. She just had to.

* * *

I love this plot twist more than ever. Blood Thirsty Me you're a freakin' genius! Maybe I should go out tomorrow night with my neighbor... I need to wrap presents and do my laundry all tomorrow or i'l be in big trouble. Damn it I'll do the dishes too!!


	33. Chapter 33

I don't know why but Kakuzu always strikes me as this guard dog for some reason. Agh, I need like one more page of my original novella and I can submit it to a publishing gent!!

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Three

Ishiko waved the doctor and Konan goodbye as Kakuzu led her out carefully and let her support herself on his forearm. As the door closed Ishiko sighed in relief and rubbed Kakuzu's forearm, making him look at her smiling face.

"You heard that? Twin boys! I love twins!" Ishiko said delightfully, wavering a little from the new dosage of opium. Kakuzu merely nodded, unsure how to react still but still worried she may pass out from the drug.

"It is delightful." Kakuzu agreed with his lover and she leaned her head into his bicep, giggling.

"We'll have to go shopping before I'm stuck with bed rest. I don't trust you to shop for them." Ishiko babbled.

"I'll make sure to make that happen." Kakuzu assured her and she still went on babbling. He wasn't sure she had talked this much in her life. All the time he had been engaged and known her, she was rather reserved. She never put in her two cents when it wasn't needed. But now it was like she was a fifteen year old girl again. They walked the hallways and a voice screamed out, "No! ...He loves me! That's the only thing he cares about! It's not... it's not…" Ishiko looked up worriedly, recognizing it as Dariru's. Her grip on Kakuzu's forearm stronger than ever and her eyes were filled with alert.

"How?" Ishiko's stepped were more hurried now to a point where she was the one dragging Kakuzu now. Another hallway came up and Ishiko turned to find Dariru leaning against a wall, who whipped her head around to look at her.

"Ishiko-chan?" Dariru questioned. Ishiko sighed in relief, worried she was arguing with Suigetsu or something, but he was nowhere in sight. But she did feel woozy and Kakuzu took notice and held her tightly with his free hand.

"She just took her medicine, excuse her." Dariru pushed herself off the wall she was leaning on and Ishiko waved off Kakuzu's comment, he narrowed his eyes at her disobedience but allowed it, recalling that she was –according to her bloodline- his superior.

"No, no. I enjoy Dariru's company. Come on, I think we need to talk." Ishiko let out the fact that at any given moment she could fall asleep. Dariru nodded and followed at Ishiko side, not bothering to help support her since it seemed Kakuzu held the reins on that matter. And he looked like he was doing a good job of it.

"Of course. What about?" Dariru asked her friend and Ishiko just glanced at her with a smile.

"You looked like you needed to. Go ahead, you can confide in me, and Kakuzu wouldn't bother telling anyone." This was half the truth. Kakuzu didn't really care about Dariru's silly problems, and he found no point in telling anyone about it. Ishiko smiled again and held a finger over her mouth.

"I'm a spy. I won't tell a secret unless you wanted me too." Ishiko assured and Dariru smiled. She may as well. This thing was going to eat her from the inside. And she was with Kakuzu way before her and Kisame ever met. Ishiko may know something abut her problem, and may even give some wise advice. She was older after all.

"I'll tell you in your room," Which was actually Kakuzu's room, "The walls have ears here." Dariru said, referring to the Akatsuki main and oldest spy, Zetsu. The cannibal wasn't to be trusted with any secret.

---

"There." Kakuzu said; making sure Ishiko was settled in the bed and after fetching Dariru a stool at Ishiko' request Ishiko smiled lightly at him and turned her attention to her friend.

"So, what is bothering you?" Her voice seemed so professional it was funny. Dariru smiled and looked down, frowning she was bringing this upon Ishiko. But she knew she would feel better about it.

"I just… I've been noticing…" She hesitated and looked up to see Ishiko's analyzing face. Then her eyes flickered to Kakuzu, looking down at his lover as he sat on the side of the bed, keeping his emerald eyes trained on her.

"How did you two fall in love?" Dariru blurted, curiosity getting the best of her yet again. Both Kakuzu and the tan girl looked at her in surprise and then Kakuzu sobered and Ishiko chuckled a little.

"Do you really want to know?" Ishiko raised an eyebrow and Dariru nodded, keeping her mouth shut. Kakuzu only narrowed his eyes and looked at the dark bed sheets.

"Well, I was a Chunnin in Iwa. My Grandpa was the Tsuchikage," A faint voice nagging her in the back of her head reminded her that one of her two children's destiny was to take that role, but she continued, "He wanted to make an alliance with the Akatsuki and Kakuzu and Hidan came to seal the deal. I was assigned to be Hidan's subordinate." She yawned and Kakuzu held her up steadily.

"I found out Kakuzu… knew my older brother who had… died and I thought he had information." Man had she ever been wrong.

"She reminded me of him. If you knew Keisuke," Kakuzu cut in, but mentally winced at using the man he hated's name.

"You'd tell she was a spitting image of him. But she was different… she was just so… angelic I needed it. I wanted it." Kakuzu continued, watching Dariru's face light up with awe that such a man like him could feel such things. Never the less say them. Dariru compared the two. She really was. Ishiko was this thin, tiny little thing with a face like an angel. And Kakuzu was tall and bulky, who always hid his face behind a mask.

"I actually denied him at first. But as things went on I realized I needed him more than I wanted." Ishiko put in, laughing at how ridiculous she was for rejecting the man whose children she was bearing right now. Kakuzu blinked and he looked at Ishiko again. Dariru couldn't help but look down. The relationships were totally different. Kakuzu was the one, who pursued Ishiko, and Dariru pretty much followed Kisame and he merely allowed her to. Ishiko yawned again, her eyes starting to droop and Kakuzu held a hand up to Dariru; signaling the girl to be quiet, and without another second passing Ishiko's eyes shut on her and Kakuzu lowered her to the mattress, allowing her to sleep.

"I'm guessing your doubting your feelings about Kisame?" Kakuzu murmured. Dariru blinked in shock, swearing Kakuzu himself was some sort of spy. That was a way too accurate guess.

"Your easier to read than you realize." Kisame was blind to not see how much this girl really cared about him. Kakuzu would have given anything to have had Ishiko care this much about him when they first met. But Dariru sputtered in defiance.

"I do not doubt my feelings. Your wrong there." Dariru said again but Kakuzu wasn't even looking at her. "It's his feelings about me that I'm beginning to doubt…" Kakuzu had to stifle a laugh at the girl's comment; Kisame was worried Dariru is going to leave him, and now Dariru's worried Kisame doesn't care. This could end badly if someone didn't have a talk with those two. But what in the hell had Kisame done to make her doubt him? All he knew was that the blue man had acted jealous towards Suigetsu. How was that enough for this little girl to begin doubting his feelings?

"Why? I mean, from what I keep seeing, he's head-over-heels for you." He remembered turning a corner one day and seeing the two practically getting ready to fuck the other's brains out in the hall. The sight had scarred his already fucked up mind, mostly because it was Kisame who was about to get some. Before Dariru came into the picture, Kakuzu knew the blue man would always have to wait for a whore to get extremely drunk or high in order to get laid. But for that shark-man to find a girl who's more than willing to be with him _sober_ must have been love at first sight for Kisame.

A small grumble came from the short-haired girl, "I…" another aggravated grumble came from her, making Kakuzu glare at how loud it was. The girl gave him an apologetic look before looking at the sleeping Ishiko. She really wished her friend was still awake; it would be easier for her to talk about the situation knowing Ishiko was listening. It wasn't that Dariru didn't trust Kakuzu, of course the trust varied in certain situations, but he just had the most intimidating air about him that she wasn't even sure he would listen to a girl's problems. The girl stood up and sighed, "I don't know how to explain it, really…but…" she sighed and sat down again. "I never realized how much I missed the outside world until the day I had to escort Ishiko out of the base."

Kakuzu grumbled to himself at the memory; he had been so worried about Ishiko, and he still didn't regret almost crushing Dariru's windpipe.

"But…it made me think…" her fingers began to fiddle with locks of her brown hair, "Not once has Kisame ever mentioned the outside world to me. Even when he came back from missions; he just tells me how the fight went. Not that I don't mind hearing about the fight, but he never tells me anything else. He's never even asked if I wanted to go outside…it makes me wonder…if he just keeps me down here so no one else can see me…"

The stitched man could understand why Kisame would do such a thing. If Kakuzu could do that with Ishiko, he would; it would defiantly ease his fears of anybody trying to take her from him. Not to mention that Kisame wasn't on the top of anybody's list to be with, with the exception of Dariru and maybe even Itachi; it seemed only natural for the blue man to keep the one person who actually wanted him hidden from the rest of the world. Though, he could see the downsides of that plan for person being hidden.

"Well, maybe if you told him you want to go outside he'd let you," Kakuzu grumbled.

"By myself?"

He gave her a look of warning, "You know as well as anybody that the leader wouldn't let you go out by yourself. There's too much at risk if you did go out alone." Pein was the most paranoid out of all the members about anybody going out alone; that was the main reason why he had paired up the Akatsuki members. There was too much at risk to let one go out alone and possibly nark out the whole organization. If Dariru asked to go out alone, the man would probably cut her down without forethought. A tiny sigh came from her, making Kakuzu scold, "You knew the risks and what you would have to give up by coming here. If you wanted to be outside so badly you shouldn't have agreed to stay here in the first place."

He saw Dariru's fists clench and then relax, her head hung low so that he couldn't see the expression she wore. For a while she was silent, the only sound in the room being Ishiko's steady breathing. Then she looked up with the most fake smile Kakuzu had ever seen. "You're right Kakuzu-san…it's my fault…I shouldn't be complaining in the first place." She stood up and walked stiffly to the door, "Thank you for listening. And give my thanks to Ishiko-chan for listening for as long as she could." Without another glance, the short-haired girl left, closing the door silently.

A small huff came from Kakuzu at the girl's abrupt exit before turning his attention to the slumbering Ishiko. It made him wonder if his lover missed anything outside of the organization besides that damned brother of hers. But that was to be expected. She went years of having a stone heart while searching for her brother's murderer only to find out he faked his death, and even though he died right on front of her, she still had enough hope and longing for her brother she didn't quite believe he was dead. He sighed and shook the thought off, if she really wanted something she would tell him. He brushed the hair on her forehead aside, revealing the scar she received a long time ago, and kissed the creamy almond skin.

His emerald eyes focused on where her stomach was, remembering Keirei's words. These children she bore may rip her, and his eyes narrowed, _don't harm her… _He thought.

---

_Ishiko had to clench her eyes shut from the sudden wind blowing fiercely in her face. Her hair whipped around her and her eyes narrowed in alert, "Keisuke-Nii-san. How are you…?" She questioned, bringing her forearm down and staring at her older brother head on. Keisuke smiled gently and he stepped forward a couple of steps and lifted her chin carefully with his arm. _

"_How do you think Ishi-chan? Our hearts are still connected, you still love me." His face was full of content and Ishiko could feel her heart beat a little faster. She shook her head violently but the smile still remained on Keisuke's lips. He knew. He knew the fact that no matter what, Ishiko's heart would always beat for him. Even if she preferred that stitched man for a fuck, Ishiko's heart would always love Keisuke. _

"_This is exhausting me." He glanced down at her stomach, recalling events that had led to the slight bulge. His eyes narrowed in disgust and he gently touched her belly, rubbing it from down to the top, just barely touching her breasts and she gasped in surprise and shock. _

"_I pity the bastard. He didn't marry you? What a disgrace. He has disgraced you Ishi-chan.": He said with an unkind face and Ishiko looked down, furrowing her brows. He was wrong. Keisuke was just saying things again. _

"_No. I prefer not to marry. I don't feel tied down." She excused. Her and Kakuzu both agreed not to have a normal engagement. Though it was solely based upon the fact Kakuzu was way too cheap even when it came to her to buy a ring. Keisuke didn't give any response. His silly little sister loved the wrong things again. He had to assume the only thing that would be right for her was if he married her himself. So what if it was incest he would love her better than any man, and of course he wouldn't mind it if she said his name a couple of times when she was being pleased. _

"_My body isn't strong right now Ishi-chan. But I swear to you, before you give your life up for these…. Repulsions. I will kiss you again." He would have kissed her right then and there, but God knew he didn't have the chakra for it right now. He was wasting enough chakra seeing her right now. The opium helped weaken the boundary. Ishiko gave him a look of question and he couldn't help it. She was just too adorable. He stepped forward and settled his lips on hers, feeling her warmth again. His lips were chapped. She noticed that much. They were cold and chapped. He pulled away and he seemed like he had just taken a drag of the best drug ever. _

"_Keisuke… They're not repulsions these are my children." She set a hand firmly over her abdomen and Keisuke smiled softly. _

"_Of course they are. If they are Kakuzu's making then they are repulsions of nature." Keisuke said coldly and couldn't help himself but he bent down to Ishiko's level again, licking the edge of her lips and she gasped. _So delicious… _He thought softly and could feel his arm burn. Too much, he has gone too far this time. Ishiko glanced to the side in embarrassment, looking in time to see his arm shaking. _What…? _She thought and could see black ink stains, swirling patterns of black and red on his arm. The edges of the formations were lines with amber and red, like it was on fire. _

"_Keisuke…!" Keisuke hid his arm behind her back, and used his normal arm to lift up her chin to face him. She didn't need to see him suffering from the after-effects of his specialized jutsu. Her eyes were far too innocent for that. _

"_Our hearts are still tied together. As long as they are I can still find you. Keep it that way and wait for my body to regain a little strength to leave this space I have been trapped in." He winced momentarily and Ishiko's eyes widened. _

"_I love you Ishi-chan. More than I should." _

---

Ishiko gasped as her eyes snapped open, Kakuzu, in alarm, made a grab for her and stopped her from rolling right off the bed. He glanced at her as her eyes were just so unfocused it was unusual. Finally her panting stopped and she looked at him, grabbing onto his arms. He sighed, releasing his grip a little so that she could comfortably shift to wrap her arms around his midsection, burrowing her face into his shirt.

"Is something wrong?" He questioned, even though he knew he wouldn't get an answer. He could feel her softly shake her head but she kept her face hidden. If it was anyone else he would push them off and tell them to grow up. But Ishiko was Ishiko. He couldn't blame her if she didn't act her age. Her heart was still the heart of a child, even though her adult mind may have overrun her body.

"Then why are you acting as though you have awoken from a nightmare?" Kakuzu inquired, looking down at her this time. She didn't respond, but turned her face a little, her dull brown eyes staring out into space.

"It's alright. I'll be here for you." Kakuzu assured and Ishiko couldn't help but nod.

"Stay there."

Kakuzu could remember her rapid heart beating, fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird. But then he realized it wasn't her heart at all, but his own and his clutch on her may have been a little too tight.

* * *

Eh. Simple plot twist for this chapter but I hope you'll enjoy. Reviews are greatly appreciated but if you send us present's we'll love you forever. LOL


	34. Chapter 34

Ahhh my hair is so soooft!! I just like tousling my hair right now for no reason other than to feel how soft it is. Hmm... I think I may have a hair-pulling fetish or something. Seriously. This is freaking me out. I dunno... My friend and I were talking and since she was in the neighborhood I suggested we hang out but she said she may smoke and might get me to smoke weed too but really I just wasn't interested. I feel so lame for refusing to do drugs. But I know my braincells will thank me.

* * *

Chapter 34

Dariru didn't get to see Kisame until mid-day; at least, that's what the clocks told her. Before she had come to the base with her lover, she would always rely upon the sun's position to tell the time since she didn't like the feel of a wristwatch on her skin. All day she had been bothered by thoughts and questions about her lover and his real purpose for keeping her down here. It was beginning to wear her down to the point that even Tobi had begun to worry when she hadn't played hide-and-seek with him with as much enthusiasm as she normally did. She wanted to know the truth from Kisame, but she didn't want to ask him so outright; of all the things she wanted to do to him, hurting him in any way wasn't even on the list. She trusted him but it was that tiny voice in her head which was questioning him. And it sounded just like her own voice…

It was when she finally entered the blue man's room that she saw him. The only piece of clothing he wore were his dark pants, leaving his blue upper body bare for her eyes. He rubbed a white towel vigorously over his head, trying to dry off his hair, and didn't even notice her until the towel came off and he turned around. A smile revealing the tips of his pointed teeth greeted her, his hands immediately tossing the towel aside. "Hey!" He greeted and began walking to her. Dariru didn't resist when his arms wrapped around her body, pulling her into his freshly cleaned body. She gripped his shoulders and rested her head on him, wanting to just fall asleep then and there. Guilt twisted in her gut at the thought of doubting his love for her; wasn't this obvious enough that he cared? That he was happy for her company?

_You're the only female company he gets everyday, _The voice grumbled, o_f course he'd be happy to know that his personal whore came back to him today. _Dariru clenched her teeth together to keep herself from talking back to…well…herself.

Kisame kissed the top of her head and pulled away to look at her face more clearly. She saw his face turn from happy to concern. "You okay Dariru?"

She nodded feebly, "Yeah. Just a little tired." He gave her a half-smile before pulling her into his body again, holding her tightly to him. A small sigh came from the girl, relieved that he wasn't pushing their physical contact any further yet. It just felt too nice to be held by his strong arms, to breath in his scent, and to just feel him so close to her. Perhaps she could tell him she wanted to see the outside very subtly? But first, she needed to start a conversation.

"Ishiko's having twins," The girl informed her lover, her face still buried in his bare chest.

Kisame looked down at her with a puzzled look, "How did they find that out?"

"Doctor has this machine…I think he called it a sonogram…and he put this gel on Ishiko's belly, put a weird little device on the gel, and we could see the babies on a screen. It wasn't a very good picture, but we could still see them." Dariru couldn't help but smile at the memory of seeing her friend's joyful face at the sight of her own children. The girl knew that if she ever had a child she would have the same look her friend had had today.

The blue man just gave her a disbelieving look and grinned. "I think I'd have to see that to believe it." He bent down and kissed her lips, his hands sliding down slowly to her waist. At first the girl didn't hesitate in kissing him back, it was practically second nature for her to return his sign of compassion, but it wasn't until their tongues began to mingle that the voice stabbed through her lustful thoughts.

_You can't even try to have a casual conversation with him without sex being the end result. Just goes to show what he's more interested in._

The girl hadn't even noticed that her lover had moved from her lips to her neck when she whispered out to the voice, "Stop it."

Apparently he had heard her, for his light kisses and skin-piercing bites had stopped. He brought himself to eye-level with her, concern and confusion written all over his face. "Dariru? Is…this too much?" The girl sighed, closing her eyes and letting the back of her head rest against the door. She had to stop talking to herself now; it was bad enough she was hearing a voice criticizing her relationship. But she didn't want him to worry about her, not at a time like this.

_Just this night, _she told the voice, _I'll let him have me tonight. Then I'll start playing your little game._

If the voice had a face, then it would have rolled its eyes. _You keep telling yourself that Dariru. Soon, you'll forget about the deal you made with yourself, what color the trees are in Autumn, how the wind feels blowing through your hair, and even the smell of horse shit. Face it. This is his plan to keep you down here; he knows that you've been interested in the Seven Swordsmen for a _long_ time. And offering you his entire body to appease both of your wildest fantasies is the best way to keep you interested. It's what keeps you down here in this damned dungeon. Stop the sex and you'll be able to see the outside world again. _

It was Kisame's voice that pulled her back to reality, "If you don't want to do it tonight, that's okay Dariru. We always have other nights," he placed a small kiss on her lips again, making the girl want more, but she resisted the urge to nip at his lip.

"I'm sorry," She sighed, giving him an apologetic look, "I'm just…tired. Getting up at three in the morning just doesn't work for me," a small chuckle was forced out of her throat. The blue man just smiled, his eyes darting from one part of her body to the other, taking in as much detail as they possibly could.

"Well, get some rest," he said before kissing her forehead, "you may need to get up early again." And he left her there, his half-naked body disappearing behind the bathroom door.

However, he wasn't doing what Dariru thought he was going to do. Instead, the blue man sighed loudly into his hands his heart beating quickly with panic and his mind racing with paranoid thoughts. This was the first time she had ever rejected him. There had been times where they were both exhausted and not because of sex either, but they still found the energy to please each other. Why was this time so different? Had something happened to her in the infirmary? No, from the sound of her voice what had happened in the infirmary was a wonderful thing. Then what else could have happened? He hadn't seen her all day so he didn't…

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

Suigetsu. That boy must have said something to her! Kisame clenched his fists, ignoring the pain his nails caused as they broke through the skin of his palms. There was nothing he wanted more than to suffocate that little bastard with his bare hands! But he had promised Dariru not to act too jealous towards other males…there had to be a way around that promise…there just had to be!

The man bit his lip in thought as he moved to the sink to wash his bleeding hands. One thing was for sure, he had to make it seem like an accident. He had to make sure that there was no way for his Dariru to suspect he had done it on purpose. Kisame cursed beneath his breath at the sudden pain of soap in his self-inflicted wounds. If Sasori were still alive he would have asked the puppet man to create a poison for him to slip into Suigetsu's next drink.

No, he couldn't kill the boy, not yet at least. He had to wait for the "prodigy" to regain health to avoid suspicion from Dariru.

---

Suigetsu heard the door open and slam shut, but he guessed it was the pansy Sasuke come to order him around again. Like yelling at his bones would make them recover any faster. Honestly the boy may have been considered a genius in Konaha but considering it was _Konaha _of all places it wasn't much of an achievement. But the rattling of the medical equipment made him think maybe it was Dariru who may have come back to do another check up. He smirked to himself. Playing doctor? Man Kisame knew how to pick them alright. He turned and lifted himself up with his elbows, smirking at the other human in the room.

"You really have to watch yourself around here. You make ripple effects." The voice said as the person tilted a scalpel in their hands. Suigetsu frowned, finding it not either person he expected it to be. But it was a rather tall person; he only guessed the intruder was a he from the visible Adam's apple that barely protruded out of his strong throat. His brown locks were long and pulled back in a ponytail and he wore a kind smile.

"And who the hell are you?" The man turned his attention from the metal object in his hands and looked at the white-haired boy with amusement. His face reminded him of the pregnant girl right away. But his hair style was a little different. His hair parted from the middle and his bangs were a lot like Sasuke's but curled at the ends. He wore a deep brown cloak and he had on some sort of vest he recognized as shinobi gear.

"My name shouldn't matter much to you. But yours does to me. Your ripple effects are really displeasing me." He spoke with so much elegance it made Suigetsu gag.

"And I care why?" Suigetsu spat, still madly upset it wasn't Dariru. But then he scolded himself for being disappointed. So what if it was some stranger and not Dariru? It wasn't like he wanted to see her.

"Because my wishes are Pein-sama's wishes. I suggest you listen to what I say if you want to keep living." The man lifted a brow and Suigetsu growled.

"Look I don't have time for this bullshit. You better leave or I'll beat the shit out of you!" Suigetsu threatened and brought out a fist. The man remained somber and walked forward, still holding the glittering scalpel.

"You dare threaten me? You have been beaten yourself, I don't think you have any room to make threats." Suigetsu growled and clenched his teeth. Just who was this guy anyway? The man waved it off and looked the other way.

"Just what is your name anyway!?" Suigetsu growled and the man looked back momentarily before shifting his cloak and he narrowed his brown eyes.

"Keisuke. Watch yourself, or I shall stop your plan when it hasn't even started." This guy knew too? Damn it! Was he that obvious!? Suigetsu stuttered but regained his composure.

"How the fuck do you know!? I **will **get Dariru-chan. Nobody not even you; Keisuke will stop me!" But Keisuke wasn't listening, but he continued walking. Suigetsu watched with anger at the stranger who kept walking, getting a glimpse of a huge tattoo covering the man's arm, and it reminded him much of the curse mark effect Sasuke had. Keisuke opened the door and Suigetsu could visibly see the smile on his face. He wanted to rip it right off.

"As long as you don't complicate or worry my dear little sister I have no care for that matter. That is all I ask for."

---

Dariru felt so tired now that she thought about it. Kisame had been in the bathroom for some time and she started to really feel the guilt wretch in her stomach like a hook-shaped kunai. She saw it. The look in his eyes when he left her to go to the bathroom. She didn't want to think what that flash of emotion was. Betrayal? Hurt? Rejection? Everything she never wanted him to feel ever again. Panic maybe? He really tried to hide it to. He may have thought that kissing her forehead was proof he was okay but it wasn't. It didn't take an idiot to tell that smile he gave her was a fake one.

He was trying to cover up his own emotions to make her feel better. Oh god… She sat up, hugging her knees and staring at the bathroom door. _Can I really blame him? He still gives me chaste kisses. Is it really so much of him to ask for sex? _She questioned herself. He was a man after all, that was their nature. From what she heard from Ishiko, Kakuzu still had incredible difficulty to control himself when Ishiko ruthlessly teased him, and he was well over Kisame's age. She had seen it even; when she and Ishiko kissed she had seen the evil glint in her friend's eyes and her deliberate silent treatment towards him. The longer-haired girl practically refused to acknowledge Kakuzu was there at all until he had to beg for some action. _It is. He can control himself. It's not like your holding out on him much. Is it too much to ask for a night off without him going to the bathroom to jack off from not getting some? _Her mind spoke back maliciously. Dariru bit her lip from the harsh realization.

_He's not… _Dariru tried but really didn't want to test that theory he wasn't. She could hear the voice scoff. But before Dariru could think of another response, the door opened and Kisame walked through, Dariru smiling brightly at him. He grinned at her and walked over to her, "I thought you were going to sleep?" She made room for him to sit next to her on the bed, and the girl immediately cuddled up to him. Right now, she just wanted to be with him; to prove that fucking voice of hers wrong. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into him as she clung to him.

"I will…but I wanted to ask you something first…" He looked at her expectantly and the girl took a deep breath. "What's the outside like now?"

He blinked in confusion, "Like…outside of the base?" She nodded eagerly, hoping he would see the eagerness on her face. The man sighed in thought, searching for the right words to describe the world he had seen. "Well…nothing's changed a whole lot really. Trees are still alive, the grass is still green, and people are still fighting with each other." Dariru's heart dropped at his meager response. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear…she had been hoping for more detail.

"What else?" she pressed, hoping he would pick up on her interest in the outside world.

"Um…" he looked about he room as if hoping someone would help him, "I…I don't know. I don't really pay attention to the scenery when I'm on a mission."

"Oh…" she mumbled, before hiding her face in his chest, hearing his beating heart against the bone. It was pumping fairly fast, but she wasn't sure why. Either she was too close to him or he had been nervous about her question. _He knows that the little you know about the outside world, then sooner or later you'll forget there ever was a world above this hole. _The girl desperately wanted to argue with the spiteful voice, but she couldn't find anything to back her reasoning. The silence gave the voice power. _Anybody can say "I love you" before, during, and after sex. But what has he done to prove it? He's a professional shinobi _and _criminal! It's his _job_ to lie to people constantly, no matter _who _they are. _Dariru took a shaky breath and pried herself out of his arms, starting to get underneath the blankets of his bed. She made sure her back was to him so he couldn't see her watering eyes or quivering chin. _Admit it…to him, you're nothing more than a fuck buddy. Just like all the other whores he'd hire before you came in… free of charge._

"If it means anything to you…it's early fall." Kisame murmured, his fingers brushing through her short hair. Immediately, the voice in her head was silenced and Dariru wanted to face him; but she didn't want him to see the stray tears that had fallen on her cheeks. Instead, she gripped his fingers and rubbed them with her thumb.

"Thank you Kisame…" she managed to say without sounding too pathetic. "I love you…"

He lowered his head and kissed the side of her head that was exposed to him. "I love you too." He whispered in her ear, making the voice in her head cackle sarcastically. But this time, the girl shot the voice down, _Shut up! He told me more than you expected him to._

_But even you began to doubt him for a little bit. _The voice scoffed. Dariru frowned and closed her eyes, hoping the voice would be gone by tomorrow.

---

Kisame had waited for Dariru to fall asleep before he began to put on his sandals. Before he left he kissed her cheek and had tasted the salt and dampness of recent tears. The sudden discovery just made the man more determined in his new expedition. He had seen the look of interest in his lover's eyes when she had asked about the outside world. Though he wished he had been able to answer her question more to her liking; but what he had said was true. He rarely took in the scenery when on a mission, figuring it was just another tree, or road, or bird, or sky. But after that question of hers, he felt guilty for not being able to answer it properly. Though, it did catch him by surprise…why was she so interested in the outside world all of a sudden? He scolded himself for questioning her interests; he knew better than anybody that she was a curious little human being. And after being cooped up in such a dark place like the Akatsuki base, it was only natural she would ponder about the rest of the world; especially since she used to travel around for so long just looking for someone from his little group of swordsmen.

But he was going to fix that right now. He was going to go outside and just sit there for a long while to take in all the details. And when he was done, he was going to go back to her and tell her what he had seen. Of course, he could always go to Pein and ask his permission for her to go outside, even if only for a few minutes. But after that fight he had had with Suigetsu, Kisame was quite sure Pein wouldn't be granting any favors to the blue man anytime soon. It was best just to avoid the whole situation with the leader all-together. As the man slipped out of the organization's hideout and into the setting sun's light, he couldn't help but wonder what had made Dariru cry. Had there been something else on her mind? Or did she miss the outside world that much? He began to feel guilty for keeping her down there and without even trying to bargain with the leader to let her outside at all. He only hoped that she didn't think ill of him for keeping in the dark for so long.

The man sat down on a fairly large boulder, staring at the surrounding forest. The leaves were beginning to change colors and some had even fallen to the ground…

* * *

If I had to guess, It's November!


	35. Chapter 35

I think Cheeky Half-Demon may now officially hate my guts.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Five

Kisame closed his eyes momentarily. It had been some time since he had fully taken in the outside world as well. He felt so selfish being out here experiencing what Dariru might even die for to see again. It made him worry. Dariru was so young; God knows what she could do. To what extent would she go just to get another glimpse of this world? And he knew in the pit of his gut Suigetsu might take advantage of that obvious fact. The crunching of leaves made him whip around, grabbing the Samehada but a stone fist punched it down, and the large sword made a huge dent in the earth.

"Kakuzu?" Kisame questioned, looking at the taller man with speculation. Kakuzu didn't' spare him a glance, but he simply looked around, like he was searching for something important.

"I sensed a dirty chakra around." Kakuzu stated and Kisame felt his eyes droop. If Kakuzu didn't like Kisame all because he kissed Ishiko that night he could just say so. It wasn't like it was intimate or anything, Kakuzu knew for a fact Kisame only cared about Dariru sentimentally, besides he didn't care much for tan girls.

"I'm right here, Kakuzu." Kisame said but Kakuzu waved him off.

"Not you." Kakuzu sighed. He may as well let Kisame know. Besides not even Pein knew of this fact at the moment. Only he and Ishiko knew of the indefinite fact Keisuke was alive. But maybe Kisame had a right to know as well. If Kakuzu knew Keisuke any, he'd use Dariru to get to Ishiko, or just use the poor girl as some sort of plaything.

"Keisuke may be alive." Kisame stopped in his tracks. Kakuzu's old subordinate? That boy always gave Kisame the creeps. The way he always had that kind smile even though he had just killed somebody. He was almost happy when he discovered news of the Tsuwa's death, and liked Ishiko way better. Keisuke was so cruel to everyone, a lot like Kakuzu was before Ishiko. Kisame stood up, grabbing his Samehada.

"Are you sure?" Kisame asked. If that boy was alive then he may as well be a pink poodle. Kakuzu looked at him with some sort of look of scorn and nodded regrettably.

"Ishiko had an informant bring information. His autopsy results were just the results of a classic Iwa Black Op technique they used to fool the enemy into thinking they had the right body." Kakuzu turned suddenly and launched his tendrils into a bush, only to have a pure white rabbit jump out, startled. It squeaked and ran of in the opposite direction.

Just a rabbit.

Kisame looked back at Kakuzu and narrowed his eyes. Did he really have to come to this spot? He was trying to look around while Dariru was sleeping. But seeing the dark circles around what he could see under Kakuzu's own eyes he guessed he shouldn't be getting angry with Kakuzu about Dariru's sleeping problems. The man would probably solve Dariru's sleeping problems by just putting her under a permanent sleep, and Kisame definitely didn't want that.

"Why are you out here anyway?" Kakuzu asked, his annoyed tone coming out, and he didn't seem withholding anything now. It must have been because he knew he didn't have to temper himself now that Ishiko wasn't around. Kakuzu was now the same heartless bastard Kisame had always been careful around. Kisame turned and sat down again. Shouldn't Kakuzu be off trailing Ishiko?

"Just getting some fresh air." The stitched man scoffed at his response in disbelief. Kisame turned his head to glare at the older man. "I hear Ishiko's gonna have twins," he noticed the tan man wince at the sudden subject change, "How do you think you'll handle two kids?"

Kakuzu straightened himself and acted as if it were nothing, which was nothing close to what he was feeling. "Simple. I'll make your mutt help." Before Kisame could retort against the statement, the tan man turned and headed back for the base. "Have fun getting fresh air," he remarked sarcastically. A small huff came from the remaining man and he turned his attention back to the forest ahead. He wished he could bring Dariru out with him…maybe after the leader had some time to cool down he would ask for permission from the orange-haired man…

---

The dirty chakra sensation still hadn't left Kakuzu when he entered the base. It was beginning to drive him crazy, along with his lack of proper sleep. He could feel the charka's presence, but it was at the edge of his senses. No matter which direction he seemed to go, the chakra just always seemed to be out of reach. And it wasn't like the corrupted chakra he sensed being emitted from the fellow Akatsuki members every day. No, this one was different; and it reminded him so much of his old lover. Was Keisuke somewhere in the base right now?

Kakuzu shook his head, trying to get rid of the possibility. There was no way Ishiko's older brother could be in this very base; surely they would have sensed his presence if he was. The uneasy feeling of the new chakra appeared, again at the very edge of the man's senses, and he gritted his teeth in anger. It couldn't be Keisuke's chakra, it just couldn't be. Perhaps he was overreacting after hearing the news from Ishiko and from all the nightmares she had been having recently. Yeah, that was it; he was just overreacting, like he normally does when he began to worry for his lover.

He glanced over at the stone walls that had been built even before his time. He was so on edge lately; maybe he should just sleep along with Ishiko. If she so much as shifted in her sleep he would be up in an instant. There was no worry if something happened that he would not wake up. But then Kisame's question rang back into his head like some annoying song. And he wanted desperately to forget it. But no matter how much he tried to push it to the back of his mind it kept coming back. Sure he loved Ishiko. Sure he would love what she produced. But his limbs felt tingly at the thought. What if they hated him? Would she hate him too? He sighed in some attempt to get the twisting in his stomach to stop. Then the chakra appeared again. This time he could feel it in his skin. He could find it this time. No doubt about that. He promised he would protect Ishiko from anything, and Keisuke counted as a definite threat now.

---

Keisuke couldn't help but smile. Kakuzu was such an idiot. It was fall. There were no white rabbits this time of year, yet he had been able to elude him long enough that he was able to sneak in again. It was far too easy. With Pein constantly distracted by his woman it was like kidnapping an eight-year old. The Akatsuki were losing their shinobi touch. He stared down at his sister sleeping away like she always used to when they were kids. She hardly looked any different. Her face matured a little more, under her eyes was hints of bags appearing. His eyes narrowed. _Kakuzu probably isn't letting her get any proper sleep, _he thought shakily.

He reached out, tucking a chopped piece of chocolate hair behind her ear and she winced a little. But then her face relaxed again and Keisuke felt like kissing her, but right now he didn't want to ruin her peaceful slumber. It must have been Sunday.

---

Kakuzu rushed in the direction the chakra was and his eyes narrowed when he recognized the way. It was the way to his room. The room Ishiko was sleeping in. His hearts panicked for a second, and they started beating a little faster. He didn't want to think of what Keisuke might be doing. He didn't think someone who praised Ishiko like a God like Keisuke would harm _her _in particular. But the girl was carrying children now. And he feared for his newly discovered twin boys' life. He could see the wood of his door and rushed to it, practically slamming the door open and he swore his heart stopped.

The boy in the cloak turned; his face oddly similar to Keisuke's and he smiled that charming little smile he gave everyone he particularly hated. Kakuzu stopped, gripping the door handle and he could feel its splinters piercing his palm, but his eyes flashed to Ishiko. Good. There was no blood and she was still asleep.

"What's wrong you look like you've seen a ghost?" Keisuke almost chuckled. His tone was just a decibel off from being joyous.

Kakuzu only glared it return though. His hearts thumped and Keisuke looked back to his little sister.

"Not a ghost but a demon." Kakuzu returned and Keisuke's eyes shot at him, smiling slyly.

"Now is that any way to talk to your… fiancé's brother?" Keisuke said kindly, like all society's rules applied to them. But then Keisuke tucked Ishiko in more and then turned fully to Kakuzu, lifting a hand in surrender.

"I'm not here to fight. But merely to spend time with my little sister and see her out." Kakuzu took note he said nothing about the twins. Keisuke whipped his cloak off and set it at the foot of the bed.

"I also happened to notice no wedding ring on her finger and yet she is pregnant, care to explain this disgrace to me?" Keisuke asked smoothly. Kakuzu growled lowly, and it sounded like some primitive bear but Keisuke didn't bat an eyelash.

"We have no need for traditions. We love each other and that is all that matters." Kakuzu explained, about ready to rip the man's head off but Keisuke only chuckled. He doubled over, holding his stomach from laughter and he looked up again to see Kakuzu very displeased in the reaction.

"Have I not told you before? Ishiko's heart beats for me and me only. She has no room for trash like you." Keisuke snarled at the end of his declaration and Kakuzu's tendrils shot out, piercing Keisuke's jugular vein but the boy recoiled, holding his wounds and setting a free hand on the ground. Bright green light emitted from the cracks of Keisuke's hands; signaling his wounds was healing but a large shaped cylindrical piece of stone from the ceiling cropped down, missing Kakuzu by a mere inch. Ishiko didn't even stir.

"I don't see your spawn in her womb." Kakuzu growled. Keisuke smiled and stood upright, flexing his hand and placed it behind his back.

"Anyone can rape a girl." Keisuke murmured his smile disappearing and he turned to look at Ishiko again.

"I plan to take her out of your care. She obviously isn't going to get the help she needs while you're watching her." Keisuke said softly, brushing another lock of hair out of the girl's face and Kakuzu cringed.

"To her you were dead." Kakuzu reminded him and Keisuke nodded in response, raising his eyebrows and smiling yet again. Was there much he didn't smile to? Perhaps not.

"It has taken its toll on my body don't you worry your disfigured little head. But I will never die completely so long as Ishiko is alive." Keisuke assured and Kakuzu glared daggers. Keisuke's fingers left Ishiko and he started to walk toward Kakuzu hopping delicately on the platform that was created and hopped past Kakuzu like some sort of rabbit. Then his eyes widened in realization. The damn rabbit! Of course! _There are no white rabbits in damn winter!! _He hissed to himself, and he turned around but before he could attack Keisuke was already gone. He turned around again, locking his eyes on his fiancé. He wasn't going to leave her open like that again.

---

Dariru could hear the door open and shut again, and she moaned. Was Kisame back? He could hear the footsteps walk towards her and she started to wonder why Kisame was gone to start with. Did she upset him? She kept her eyes closed, liking the way the darkness relaxed her, but managed to prop her head up and the sheets fell off her shoulders.

"Kisame?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and pushing locks of elongating hair behind her ear. Her lover stopped and bent down to kiss her but something wasn't right. Kisame didn't… _taste _like Kisame. Kisame's lips weren't chapped slightly like they were before and his teeth didn't bite her lip like they usually do. They left hers too quickly and his hand that laid on her cheek, tilting her face upwards wasn't as large as Kisame's. Her brown orbs flashed open to see someone completely different from the lover she knew.

His face was rather pale, maybe a tone light than Ishiko's. His hair was brown and long, tied back into a pony tail. His eyes as chocolate brown as hers and Ishiko's. His smile was heart-melting, and eerie at the same time.

"You'll make a nice substitute. Though I had a feeling Kisame-san would steal my room as soon as I left." He spoke. Dariru slapped his hand away and backed away, pulling a kunai from underneath her pillow and aiming towards him, her ferocity rising.

"Who are you!?" She demanded. The man smiling wider, holding up both hands in surrender only to notice large flame-like black scars covering his arms. It looked like they were carved into his skin.

"I am nobody important." He smiled but Dariru didn't buy any of it. This man just came in her and kissed her for no reason for God's sake! But she recalled he said "as I left", so was he a part of the Akatsuki before?

"Bullshit! Who are you?" She yelled again, wiping her lips with her forearm.

"Nobody important to _you _in particular." His eyes shifted to the side uneasily and his eyes returned to hers again.

"Is that a good enough answer?" He asked kindly. Rage completely took over Dariru's arm from his attitude and the kunai launched out of her fingers and into the man's cheek. He fell backwards and he landed onto the ground with a sickening crack of bone. Dariru gasped at her own sudden actions and she crawled to the edge of the bed, peeking over the edge. The man's body was in a crumbled heap, the kunai embedded so deep only the handle stuck out. She didn't think she hit him that hard, but maybe she didn't know her own strength. But she cried out when the kunai started to move on its own, like some invisible force was pulling it out up to the point when it landed on the ground with a loud clink.

"That wasn't very respectful." His jaw seemed to be moving out of order and his wound glowed bright green before all that was left was his regular skin. He was healing himself. His arms cracked as he started moving them again and he touched his jaw, moving it around.

"Next time you try that expect to be personally removed from the Akatsuki."

* * *

Yeah... Well... Reviews are very much appreciated, and well, I've noticed not really anybody has been reviewing lately. I'm staying up later than usual but really I have a routine worked out. Anyway, I'm going over to my neighbors house to hang out since I'm so bored being home alone. Although I have a Geography project to do I don't feel up to it. :/


	36. Chapter 36

I feel so guilty about this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 36

The pain in his healing ribs had practically vanished. Suigetsu's entire body was jittery with the relieved sensation, wanting so desperately to stand up and move around. Very slowly, he sat up straight, waiting for any sudden stings of pain that would disapprove of his movements. No such pain came and it just encouraged the boy to flip the blankets off of his body and swing his stiff legs to the side of the bed. He stretched his stiff limbs when he still didn't feel any pain, sighing and moaning in relief as his muscles relaxed. The pain killers he had just taken were doing a marvelous job at making him forget his still healing fractured ribs. The first thing he felt against his bare feet was the cold stone floor, the chill finding its way into his joints and bones. He shook the sensation off and began walking around his room; his knees still a little stiff from all the forced bed rest.

By the time he had circled his entire room ten times, Suigetsu felt the urge to walk around the base. Perhaps he would run into Dariru and strike up a conversation with her. The thought excited him, which he tried to ignore; why should he get excited for seeing her? She probably hated his guts right now judging by the way she had stormed out of his room just hours ago. The boy shrugged it off, along with the bit of guilt that had began to form in his stomach. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it on, noting the slight twinge of pain when he lifted his arms up. The pain was gone the moment his arms were at his sides again, and the white-haired boy left his room, excited that he could finally get out of bed without any assistance.

---

Dariru stared at the intruder before her, dumbfounded that he had been able to heal so quickly. Was this man immortal like Hidan? No, Hidan's wounds didn't heal like…like _that_. The once smiling man looked down at her with a look of scorn; it frightened her. She didn't know why, considering she had seen so many blood-thirsty looks from other Akatsuki members, but this man was different. He may look like a normal person, but Dariru could tell that he was more troubled than any of the other Akatsuki men she had seen.

Every fiber in her body told her to get away from him, to scream for help, to do anything to get someone else in the room with her. But she couldn't do anything. All she did was scoot further and further away until her back bumped into the stone wall that the side of the bed was up against. He smiled, apparently happy that she was afraid, and he made her feel slightly comfortable. Sure it was a strange thing to feel comfortable over, but it just reminded her of all the other Akatsuki members who smiled at the sight of someone's fear.

"You're…you're an Akatsuki member…?" Dariru did her best not to gulp. If this guy was a member, she could be dead in a heartbeat for attacking him like that. Pein wouldn't allow her to act so violently towards his followers, with the exception of Hidan considering the man was immortal.

He took a step closer to the bed; "Perhaps I am…" his voice went from calm to vicious, "I could kill you without so much as an explanation needed to justify my actions." Without warning, he clambered onto the bed, making the nervous Dariru scoot away from him, her eyes never leaving his face.

She didn't know what to do. If this guy was an Akatsuki member, she couldn't touch him without getting a heavy punishment from Pein. A cold shiver went through her as she remembered the horrible taste of his lips. What if he wanted to take advantage of her? Good lord, she wished Kisame would just open the door right now and stop this guy. But as the intruder crept closer to her, no one came through the door. She needed to stop this before something bad happened. The girl backed away from his approaching figure and yelled, "GET AWAY!" before falling off the edge of the bed.

---

Suigetsu tried to rush past Kisame's door, not really wanting to know what Dariru and Kisame were doing behind closed doors, but two things happened. The moment he tried to speed up, his ribs began to hurt again. Not only that, but he heard the familiar voice of the girl scream, "GET AWAY!" The distressed command made the boy stop dead in his tracks, and for a moment, he just stared at the door. Was Dariru getting raped by her own lover? Or was this some weird role play of theirs?

It was the sound of a body dropping to the floor that made the boy dash for the door. Pain shot from his ribs, but he ignored it as the door swung open easily. "Dariru-chan! Are you—" He cut himself short at the sight of Keisuke and no sign of Kisame. The brown-haired boy slid off the bed smoothly, making Dariru crawl towards the door, her wide eyes never leaving Keisuke. Seeing the once proud girl, who had not only slapped a Swordsman but had gauged some guy's eye out, crawl like a beaten puppy set something off in Suigetsu. Whatever Keisuke had done to her was wrong, and the swordsmen trainee decided he had to do something about it.

Keisuke had smiled at the white-haired boy and was about to say something when Suigetsu charged. Though the brown-haired man had been weak, he knew Suigetsu was weaker in his condition. The moment a fist came rushing towards his face, Keisuke grabbed the wrist and twisted his attacker's arm behind his back. Suigetsu's frustrated huffs were drowned out by the sound of his screams when he felt a fist plunge into his short rib. Normally he would have turned to water before the fist had even made contact with his body, but the pain killers had slowed his reaction time. Keisuke pushed the groaning boy to the ground, making the girl on the floor call out her ally's name in concern.

Keisuke just walked around his slowly moving body, "It would appear your bark is worse than your bite," The man nudged the boy's pain-filled body with his foot teasingly before returning his attention to wide-eyed girl. "I suppose I should leave now before drawing too much attention to myself," he nodded at her before making his way to the door.

Dariru crept away and kept watching the open door until she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. She went to Suigetsu's side and helped him roll over to the side that wasn't throbbing in agony. "What's broken," she asked, looking at his pained face.

"Short rib," he groaned out as if it were painful to talk. Without hesitation, the girl put his arm around her shoulders and helped the boy up. He needed to get to Doctor Keirei soon; that short rib may have pierced something if it was broken. A pained breath escaped him the moment he was his feet and leaned against the girl for support. He hated the fact he needed her help, especially after he tried to save her, but at the same time he wasn't complaining that he got to be so close to her again.

"What the hell were you doing out of bed anyway?!" she scolded as they walked slowly out of her lover's room.

"Well," he managed to get out, "the pain killers were—ugh—doing a good job at making me forget the pain. And I decided to take a walk around the base." This was probably the first time he had ever told her the truth about anything, but the boy shoved the fact aside and looked at her. She had mumbled something about him being a dumb ass, but he could still see the nervous fear in her eyes. It even made Suigetsu begin to worry for her. "Did he try to do anything to you?"

That had hit the spot. Dariru scoffed and the fear turned into guilt. "He probably would have if I hadn't reacted so violently to his first move."

A small twinge of jealously and anger began to boil in the boy's gut as he managed to say, "What did he do?"

"He…" the girl looked ashamed and he wasn't sure if she was going to tell him. But somehow she managed to force it out. "He kissed me."

"_WHAT!?_"

The furious roar made both of them freeze in place, but Dariru was the only one who managed to turn her head around to see the angry man.

"K-Kisame?" She questioned, unable to hide the slight fear in her voice at the sight of her lover. The blue man looked about ready to tear someone's head off as he stormed toward the two.

"Who kissed you?" he demanded, his pointed teeth bared and fists clenched to the point of breaking the skin again. Dariru blinked; a little flattered by the way Kisame was reacting. He was jealous. The only way a man could be jealous was if he loved her. _Don't be so conceited. He's just afraid somebody else is stepping in his territory. _The voice sneered and cackled afterwards. Dariru flinched a glare but quickly remembered that this was a voice in her mind that kept telling her things like this. But it wasn't like she could tell Kisame anything. He never revealed his name, and she attacked him before he could tell her anything.

"_You'll make a nice substitute." _

"He never told me his name." Dariru answered and she could feel Suigetsu's stare on her, which made her feel even more uncomfortable. Did he have to practically lean his head into her shoulder? But she supposed it was her faults for offering him help in the first place. Kisame growled and looked at Suigetsu.

"Looks like whoever he was did a good number on you, Suigetsu." Damn it. This meant he had to wait longer for him to heal. The white-haired boy scoffed.

"Just got a lucky shot." Suigetsu mumbled and then Kisame walked closer, staring at Dariru directly in the eyes.

"Dariru. Tell me. What did he look like?" For a second Dariru didn't know how to answer. She didn't really concentrate on looking at his face, but his chakra was so disgusting she felt like she needed a shower yet it was so warm and comforting. She had never felt anything like it. _He was handsome in a way… but he was scary at the same time. Eerie. Warm. _The man was the definition of an oxymoron. Dariru had to think for the right words.

"Brown hair. Brown eyes. He looked a lot like Ishiko-chan. But he was tall and eerie… he smiled a lot." Dariru looked up for some sort of approval. Maybe Kisame knew him. But Kisame only stilled, and his eyes were unwavering.

"Kisame?" Dariru asked, moving forward and bringing Suigetsu along with her.

"Are you sure? Are you positive that was him?" Kisame asked and Dariru started to panic. Why was he confirming it like it was an impossibility? What was currently making her lover stiffening like he was and look around anxiously.

"Go back to the room. Both of you. I'll be right behind you." He quickly drew the large sword and turned, running the opposite direction. He glanced back, locking eyes with Dariru and nodded, signaling it would be okay and that he would explain later.

---

"_Ishi-chan…" Ishiko could feel a warm hand on the side of her cheek, stroking lovingly and with great affection. She knew who it was immediately and winced. Though her body was so cold. She was wet. Like she had just swan in an icy lake. The hand on her cheek was so warms he couldn't help but to lean into it; and the voice chuckled with amusement. _

"_You are so cute. I can't wait to see you again." Keisuke smiled and Ishiko opened her eyes slightly, matching pairs of brown eyes meeting. _

"_Keisuke… what are you talking about?" Keisuke's smile turned into a low frown and he looked away. _

"_Open your eyes. Though, you love me right?" Ishiko's eyes opened wide and Keisuke wrapped his arms around her delicately. They used to always do this when they were kids. When he was sixteen and she was only eight. But her mind seemed so cloudy she could hardly think straight. The opium was really getting to her. _

"_Keisuke… Onii-sama…" Keisuke hummed a low tone and seemingly purred against Ishiko's wet skin. He was so warm. _

"_I love that name. Call me 'Onii-koi'* next time. I would greatly appreciate it." He chuckled and brought Ishiko closer to him. She felt like she was floating in air, her limbs were free and her arms grasped at Keisuke's clothing, not like she could tell what he was wearing Ishiko's eyes softened and she laid her head on his shoulder, and his hands, in return, wrapped around her tightly. Afraid to let her go. _

"_I love you Ishi-chan. You will see me soon." She shook her head against his skin. _

"_You died… Kakuzu kept telling me…" Tears made their way to the edges of her eyes as her muffled voice choked and Keisuke petted her hair, shushing her. _

"_Kakuzu is a buffoon. He would have liked if I died for real. But it was required. I apologize for worrying you. But I have been given the chance to see you again." His eyes closed and opened lazily as he felt Ishiko's hot tears on his shoulder. What he wouldn't give to be her tears. To be conceived in her heart, born in her chocolate orbs and die on her cheek. But he would much rather be holding her right now. _

"_People hate you Keisuke. You've been hiding a part of you from me. Which one are you? My Keisuke? Or the Keisuke you became for the Akatsuki?" Ishiko asked. Keisuke brought up his hand and grabbed her chin, making her look up at him. _

"_Why should it matter? Wouldn't you accept me either way?" _

---

"What was that all about? I've never seen Kisame-sama so worked up about some man." Suigetsu asked, half-expecting Dariru to have some answer but stayed silent when no answer from her ever came. He watched her from the bed, her fingers fidgeting nervously in as she sat on the edge of a chair. Her frightened nervousness made the boy want to say something reassuring to her; only problem was that he didn't know what to say. What could he say in this situation? Neither of them had any idea what Kisame was going to do to that Keisuke fellow if he ever found him. But it looked like Dariru was more worried for her blue lover than the guy who stole a kiss from her.

Dariru stood up and went to the bathroom, not bothering to shut the door. She looked around for some mouthwash, but couldn't find any, and so she brushed her teeth vigorously instead. The strange taste of that man still lingered on her mouth even when she spat out the mint flavored foam. The man had tasted almost like death, or as if he had just escaped death. Either way, she didn't like it. And the fact that she could still feel those chapped lips made her want to puke with disgust for him doing such a thing and for her being so stupid. She should have known it wasn't Kisame just by the lighter footsteps the man had taken when entering the room.

"_You'll make a nice substitute."_

His voice repeated over and over in her head. What had he been talking about? What was she going to replace? An uncomfortable shiver ran through her and she wanted so desperately to be with Kisame. Her lover would make her feel safe and warm. But she couldn't go after him now, not when she had an injured Suigetsu to take care of. The girl entered the bedroom and decided to get the next best thing that would comfort her.

She went straight for Kisame's drawers and pulled out one of his shirts. His scent still lingered on the piece of clothing, making Dariru hold it close to her like a toddler and its favorite toy. The girl sat back in the chair, taking no notice of the questioning look Suigetsu was giving her. Guilt mixed with concern as she sat there revisiting the events of today. Kisame had left for something while she had been asleep…but what? She was quite sure he didn't have a mission today, and unless she had been asleep for days, there was no way he would have been back that fast. She wanted him to hurry up and come back not just for the comfort his presence will bring, but so he could answer all of her curious questions.

"Oy, Dariru-chan," Suigetsu started, making the girl lift her eyes to look at him. "Kisame-sama will be fine. He's got someone to come back for, remember?" He gave her a weak smile, but the boy had no idea how much his words meant to her. To hear those words come from the boy who Kisame probably loathes right now just made Dariru's confidence rise. Everything will be fine. It will all turn out okay in the end…

"Thank you, Suigetsu-san." She murmured, her hands tightening on her lover's empty shirt.

The moment Kisame saw the back of the familiar man many things ran through his mind. The two that stood out the most, however, were disbelief and anger. Disbelief at the fact that Keisuke was still alive; and anger that this man had kissed _his_ woman. Needless to say, anger was stronger than disbelief. The blue man gritted his teeth and swung Samehada at the younger man's head. Keisuke ducked and rolled out of reach from the hostile man, making the sword crash into the wall. An amused smirk came from the pale as Kisame began to have difficulty at yanking the sword out of the wall.

"Well, it's nice to see you again Kisame-san." Keisuke greeted, standing up to his full height. "How do you like my room? Is it comfortable for you?"

Kisame shot a glare at him, "Cut the small talk Keisuke! Why'd you kiss her!?"

The younger man blinked, "Which 'her' are you referring to? My dear sister? Or your new…hm, how should I say this…your new concubine?"

The sudden angry twitch in the blue man's shoulder was what wrenched Samehada out of the stone wall. "She's not a concubine!" He growled. So, Keisuke had gotten to Ishiko before Kakuzu; this news would make the tan man go insane.

The man blinked innocently. "But she was in your bed when I visited her. Well, technically, since it's _my_ room she was in my bed—"

"Even if it's your bed," Kisame interrupted with a snarl, "I'm the one she wants. She…" he paused for a moment, wondering if he should give any more information to Keisuke, but also because he had never said the words out loud. "She loves me."

Keisuke smiled and clapped his hands together, "Well, I'm glad you finally found someone who is able to look past your appearance. But I'm afraid you're just not part of the plan Kisame-san."

A sudden shock of fear went through the blue man. Plan? What plan? What in the hell was Keisuke planning? "I swear, if you hurt her I'll—" he began, but was cut off by the younger man's amused chuckle.

"Hurt her? What reason do I have to hurt her? Even if I wanted to, my precious Ishiko wouldn't like it very much. And I don't want to upset my little sister." He turned and began to walk away. "Don't fret, Kisame-san. Your woman is safe, for now." He stopped and turned to look at him. "But if I were you, I'd spend a lot of time with her. Your time with her is running short, and who knows when you'll need to say 'good-bye'."

As the young man began to disappear from sight, Kisame didn't go after him. Instead, he went back to the room he had left his lover and Suigetsu in. Keisuke was up to something bad, and there was no way he was going to let Dariru be apart of it.

* * *

*= Onii= respectful term for the older brother and koi= term used for a lover. So basically Keisuke wants Ishiko to address him as her incestuous older brother or her lover who is also her brother.

I don't know why but I just seem to love KeisukexIshiko myself. Maybe thats why I keep bringing him back to life to my will LOL. Sorry Cheeky-Half Demon, I'm seriously considering making a pure KeisukexIshiko fanfic since I seemingly love it so much. God Damn it why am I so obsessed with this incest pairing!?!!? I can't wait till Christmas Eve! Me and Blood Thirsty Me are working to make a Christmas special but we're working very hard on making our latest three-chapter burst and we're having difficulty with the last chapter. But my family opens presents on Christmas Eve and I get to wear my new dress! If I get enough money I'm going to buy another dress!!

Reviews are much appreciated and so are suggestions right now.


	37. Chapter 37

Sorry these took forever to get out, I got a new laptop and I still have to wait until I'm sure my Mom still has her files and I have all mine so I can't make many changes which includes saving document.

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Chapter Thirty-Seven

_Ishiko stared up at her older brother, his face fading away. _

"_Keisuke! Nii-san!" She cried, reaching out and tried to touch his face but cried out when all she grasped was smoke. _

"_My time in this realm is over. But your time is ticking too."_

---

Ishiko awoke with a jolt and Kakuzu immediately rushed to her, but her eyes flickered all over the room. He grasped and intertwined their hands but she seemed to deny him. Her eyes unfocused on him and he tried to get into her eyesight. But every time her eyes locked with his, she looked away like he wasn't what she was searching for. She held her stomach and pushed past him.

"I feel him." She murmured. Kakuzu grabbed her arm but she pulled it back quickly, yelling at him that she knew what she was doing. But Kakuzu had serious doubts about that.

"Ishiko, it's the opium talking." Ishiko shook her eyes, her face full of hope.

"It's not. Keisuke…" She really couldn't decide what she felt. Sure she hated him. Keisuke killed Tadashi with no reason also than to break her mental stability. And he watched her tortured and didn't do anything about it but stand there. But where those the only reasons? Did the pros outweigh the cons? Keisuke had always been here for her. He always loved her. Those actions may have been caused by the Keisuke he became for the Akatsuki. She didn't know how many times she thought of that reason.

"Ishiko we have an intruder it's not safe if you…" Ishiko didn't pay attention, she was already drowsily heading out the door and she rushed in the direction he just came from, hopping over the little platform from his and Keisuke's little squabble earlier. Kakuzu growled. Damn it, he needed to trail her in case Keisuke tried anything.

---

Kisame opened the door, dragging Samehada behind him as he sighed. Dariru was first to shoot up, but then again he didn't really expect Suigetsu to be excited because of his presence.

"Kisame!" She cried, holding what he recognized as his shirt. Kisame could feel a little smile tug at the edges of his lips and she ran to him, digging her face into his cloak and he held her close with his free arm, taking in her scent and feeling her warmth. She was just so comforting at times. But she turned her head and looked up at him.

"Who was that guy? Do you know?" Unfortunately he did. The man was a black cat who crossed everyone he could. Ironically whoever he met fell under bad luck, that is, of bad luck wore a ridiculous purple scarf. Suigetsu seemed pretty interested too.

"Keisuke. He used to be a subordinate but he was promoted to full member right before he died. Guess he still is a full member since he's breathing." Kisame mumbled. He purposely left out the fact he was Ishiko's older brother. He didn't want to ruin their friendship somehow by telling the girl the one who kissed her was related to her friend. Girls were so sensitive on some things and he didn't want to be involved.

"I thought he was a member. I asked him but he didn't answer me completely." Dariru thought aloud and Kisame snorted.

"Always hated him. He makes a habit of talking in riddles and using big words." Kisame said, holding Dariru closer. Was she shaking? His grip tightened around her, promising himself that he wouldn't let Keisuke touch her again as long as he lived.

"Did you kick his ass while you were gone?" Suigetsu asked, obviously bored of watching the two cuddle in front of him.

"Tried, but he got away." Kisame answered quickly before eyeing the injured boy. There was some sweat rolling down his cheek and he appeared to be in pain. Though he was glad the little brat got hurt, he owed him for helping Dariru out. "I suppose you need to see the doctor?" The boy tensed reluctantly at the suggestion. It reminded the blue man of a child.

"Yes," Dariru answered for the boy, "he does." After Kisame had put Samehada away, he carried the boy to the doctor, while doing his best not to laugh at the boy's disappointment.

---

Kakuzu had to speed walk to keep Ishiko in his sights. There was no way he was going to let Keisuke take the woman he loved. He even loved her more than the seemingly resurrected man, and he wasn't going to let anyone take her, or their unborn children, away from him. He noticed Ishiko walk by Dariru and Kisame, who was carrying Suigetsu for some reason, without as much as a glance to the two men. However, her head had turned just slightly to Dariru, and a small plan formed in the stitched ma's head. If she wouldn't listen to him, then surely she would listen to her best friend.

As soon as he was next to the short-haired girl, he grabbed her arm and began to drag her with him. "I'm borrowing her," he answered the surprised looks he knew Kisame and Suigetsu were giving him. When Dariru finally managed to regain her balance and was practically jogging next to the tan man he began to talk. "You've got to talk to Ishiko."

"Why? What's wrong?"

He grumbled to himself, "She's tracking down her brother, and I can't let her find him. He's a fucking psycho and I'm pretty sure he wants to rip my sons out of her stomach." The sudden bluntness of the news shocked Dariru into a momentary silence.

It wasn't until they had rounded a corner that the girl spoke. "Who's her older brother?"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes, not really wanting to say the bastard's name. "It doesn't matter, you wouldn't know him anyway." He was glad that she let the subject go after that.

"What am I supposed to say?" Dariru had no idea why Kakuzu didn't want Ishiko to find her older brother. After all, the girl's mother had died recently. Wasn't it a good thing that she still had another family member out there? Ishiko seemed completely oblivious to the two talking though, her steps extremely fast for her being pregnant and all.

"Her brother is way too dangerous for her to encounter right now. Just try and talk her out of meeting her brother. Get her back into bed, that's all I ask. It's probably her opium that's making her irrational anyway." Kakuzu mumbled, glancing to the side, making sure Ishiko was still within eye-range and then looked back at Dariru who nodded.

"You got it." She promised and went up ahead, catching up to Ishiko.

"Ishiko-chan? Ishiko-chan?" Dariru tried to get her attention and Ishiko stopped suddenly, smiling at the other girl and grabbing her hands within her own.

"Do you feel it? Onii-sama is here." Her tone was just as joyous as when she saw her twin babies in the screen in Dr. Keirei's office. How could Dariru tell Ishiko her brother was a menace when she was so happy to see him again? Though she could hear Kakuzu give a frustrated sigh.

"I'm going to check the perimeter; he might be setting traps or something." Kakuzu mumbled loud enough for Dariru to hear as he walked closer and bent down to kiss Ishiko's forehead but stopped to stare at her when she gave no reaction.

"Ishiko… are you alright?" Dariru asked; glancing up to see Kakuzu's waiting expression. But Ishiko kept smiling and focused on Dariru. Like she was the only other human being who existed.

"Oh of course! I don't feel sick at all! Onii-sama is here! I need to see him again!" Ishiko shook Dariru hands and Kakuzu walked away, glancing again at Ishiko before hurrying off to check the area for Keisuke before he could get to the two girls. Dariru clasped Ishiko's hands, feeling how cold they were.

"Ishiko-chan not at this time. Kakuzu knows best." Dariru tried weakly but Ishiko shook her head reluctantly.

"I don't care. Onii-sama is Onii-sama. He will be my Onii-sama this time." Ishiko said delightfully and Dariru couldn't help but let go as Ishiko turned, but her attention turned again as she gasped to see who was standing at the hallway, Ishiko froze as well.

It was the man before.

The one who kissed her!

"Ishiko-chan! Stay away from him!" Dariru called out, grabbing her friend's arm but Ishiko surprisingly shook her off. The man smiled and Dariru frantically grabbed whatever she could grasp of Ishiko, which turned out to be the end of Ishiko's shirt.

"Ishiko-chan! What are you doing!? He's an intruder-!!" Dariru said and the man opened his arms, as if welcoming something.

"Onii-sama. Keisuke." Ishiko whispered and Dariru felt all of her muscles weaken. Keisuke was Ishiko's older brother? She wanted to slap her forehead in realization. Of course. She remembered when she was on the outside world when Konan had told them to stay in an inn a boy came posing as a guy named 'Keisuke Tsuwa', and called Ishiko his little sister. But this man looked nothing like the boy at the hotel. Or maybe that was how Ishiko was able to call out the imposter in the first place. The shock of now knowing who Ishiko's older brother was made her grip loosen and Ishiko went out to Keisuke.

"Ishiko-chan!" She cried hopelessly but Ishiko ran into Keisuke's arms and nestled her face into his shirt, tears already forming like a child reunited with its mother.

"Keisuke… Keisuke…" Ishiko repeated and he looked up, giving Dariru a smirk and returned his attention to his sobbing sister. His arms wrapped around her, neither pulling her closer nor pushing her away.

"It's good to see you again, Ishi-chan." Keisuke addressed her and Ishiko's sobbing stopped but she didn't move from her spot. Dariru stared at them, trying to think of what to do. Should she try to attack Keisuke? She surged her chakra through her body but winced in pain. It felt like pressure was suffocating her. Like even a slight spark of chakra was setting her whole body on fire.

"Nice to see you again, Dariru-san. Though I had no idea you were so concerned over my little sister." Keisuke spoke so casually, like she was some old friend he happened to bump into. What next? Was he going to ask her out to a cup of coffee and strangle her afterwards? But the pressure was increasing. Was Keisuke doing this? She felt a grunt leave her mouth and she fell to he knees, feeling none of her muscles able to move.

"You do a better job of watching her than Kakuzu-san. But I see you are perhaps with Kisame-san? I never thought such a man would ever get a… girlfriend perhaps?" Dariru wanted to scream out. But her voice wasn't working. It seemed like Keisuke was making casual conversation. But he was making some sort of air-tight box around all of them. He was probably stopping Dariru from causing any trouble like running off to alert Kakuzu or even save Ishiko from Keisuke's grasp.

"You better watch yourself as well. Kisame might impregnate you as well without so much as a shotgun wedding like Kakuzu-san has." He looked back to Ishiko and smiled kindly.

"Akatsuki members are Akatsuki members for a reason. Cold, ruthless. To be honest I don't think any of them could ever care for anyone except themselves." Keisuke said softly, and from what Dariru could see; the girl was in some sort of daze of comfort and warmth.

"But you… a… member…" Dariru scratched out, feeling her stomach tighten and the pressure became unbearable. _How is he…? How is he doing this? Is this some sort of jutsu? Ishiko doesn't seem affected by it. _She thought but Keisuke frowned at Dariru's comment, but he didn't tighten or loosen his hold on Ishiko.

"I was only promoted because of my skills. Not my actions; please take care as to not confuse them, Dariru-san." Keisuke narrowed his eyes.

"Bullshit. You were promoted to get on my nerves." A stern voice said and Dariru forced her neck to turn, looking at Kakuzu and Kisame right next to him, sword already drawn. Keisuke looked at the two of them and smiled.

"Oh look now. I feel so nostalgic right now; all we need now is Deidara-san and Orochimaru-senpai." Keisuke smiled and Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. Yeah right. Like Keisuke ever really gave a crap about his supposed best friend since childhood Deidara. And as for Orochimaru, it was no wonder the two got along. They both were creepy and spoke so carefully. If it weren't for Keisuke's odd admiration for his own little sister the two would have probably gotten married or something like that.

"Dariru are you alright? Don't move." Kisame walked up and placed a hand on Dariru, surging chakra and Dariru could feel her vision blurring. Genjutsu? Her vision cleared and she had to withhold a scream from seeing slithering snakes wrapped around very limb, including her neck. So that's where the pressure was coming from. She didn't even see the genjutsu coming. _His talking… that was his way of releasing the genjutsu! _That must have required skill no doubt. But it was the most inevitable way to cast such a jutsu, there was no way to block sound waves unless she was expecting the jutsu.

Kisame proceeded and took out a kunai, killing every snake on her in one swift movement. Dariru couldn't help bu clutch at his cloak as he got up. She just… didn't want him to go anywhere. _See? You're even clinging to him like some puppy. He's made you weak. _The thought quickly sent a shock to her and she let go in an instant. Clingy? Kisame noticed and frowned, worrying for a second but Keisuke's attention made him look away.

"You bastard let her go right now." Keisuke seemingly glared at him, keeping his composure but his face darkened, and disliking Kakuzu's threat.

"Do you really want her to be unhappy? You get her pregnant despite her previous miscarriage and our Mother. She didn't want children, she never did." Keisuke narrowed his eyes and it was the most fearsome look Dariru had ever seen from the man. And he seemed pretty capable of always wearing a happy face too.

"Besides I'm not really an intruder per say, Pein-sama knows of my existence." Keisuke looked back at Ishiko and he pulled her away a little, only enough to fully look at her dazed face. His hands enveloped her face and she grabbed his hands in return, closing her chocolate eyes.

"You bastard." Kakuzu growled out, not daring to take a step closer but Keisuke ignored him, smirking in his direction.

"At least I can handle children." Kakuzu clenched his teeth and he let his tendrils were let loose, all aiming for Keisuke. Keisuke smirked, like he wanted to be hit. Whatever. Kakuzu shrugged the thought of a possible trap aside. He would just make an easier target. Seeing there was no way Kakuzu would stop the attack, Keisuke pushed Ishiko aside, but she seemed to catch on.

Her chocolate eyes flashed from the tendrils and then back at Keisuke. _Kakuzu is... attacking Keisuke…? _Her heartbeat rose and her eyes widened in the realization. She couldn't let that happen.

"Kakuzu!! No!! Not Keisuke!!" She cried out and the tendrils stopped as she suddenly got in front of Keisuke, pushing him behind her like she was hiding a toy. He stopped immediately, seeing how his lover was in the line of danger. Even Dariru could see how much Ishiko loved her older brother. Even though he was a total asshole. Seeing the tendrils stopping Ishiko turned, hugging Keisuke tightly and crying, sobbing loudly and Kisame turned only to see Kakuzu wear a look he had never seen before.

_Ba-Bump _

_Ba-Bump_

Kakuzu reached up and clenched at his heart.

"Ishiko." She wasn't paying any attention to him now. She had a much better toy now. Keisuke was not in the least concerned for his ex-lover either, and he took Ishiko in with one of his kind smiles.

_Ba-Bump_

_Ba-Bump_

He winced as a new pain in his chest ran though his body. _My chest hurts… this feels so odd. _This pain was new. Was Ishiko aware of what she was causing? Her cries ran though his mind and each one was an arrow piercing his body. _When she cries like that… I want to cry too. _Kisame was growing worried and he clasped onto Dariru's shoulder who was watching with confusion and grief.

_Ishiko…_

"_Kakuzu…"_

"_Yes?" _

"_I don't want a white wedding." Ishiko mumbled, and Kakuzu looked at her with curiosity, taking off his shirt in the process. _

"_What?" He asked as she curled up, hugging a pillow and sighing into the fabric. _

"_I don't like the idea of confinement." Kakuzu didn't know what exactly to say to her at this point, but he sat down and she sat up as well, locking eyes with him. He had the most exotic emerald eyes and she turned, crawling towards him like she always did, but something was in her eyes that made this different. _

"_I just… I just want to be with you. That's all I want." She stated, pulling down his mask as he wrapped his toned arms around her, pulling her close. _

_Ba-Bump _

_Ba-Bump _

He remembered her wish. She just seemed so… needing. Like she needed his approval.

* * *

Oh... yeah Cheeky Half-Demon is probably pissed.... LOL


	38. Chapter 38

I found this one really sad myself. But yeah, reviews are much appreciated not like we've been getting any lately -__-. But right now I have the urge to try and find gymnastics bars...

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Chapter 38

Keisuke stroked his sister's hair comfortingly, her little sobs slowing into small hiccups, while Kakuzu just stood there with his hand clenching his cloak in pain. Dariru shook her head slowly, knowing deep down that this scenario was all wrong. Kakuzu shouldn't be standing there like a helpless idiot; he should be finding a way around Ishiko and to her brother. And Ishiko shouldn't be clinging to her older brother like he was Kakuzu; she should be trying to calm the tan man down like she normally did when he got out of control. But none of that happened. Her friend just kept clinging to Keisuke and rubbed her face into his body like he was a lost lover; and Kakuzu just stood there with the most pained expression she had ever seen. He even looked like he might cry.

"You see?" Keisuke said smoothly, his eyes staring at Kakuzu victoriously. "She loves _me_. The heart inside of her chest pounds for _me_. Not you." The pained expression on the larger man's face just grew more intense, along with the grip on his cloak. The tan man even dropped to his knees at the pain his beating heart was causing. It was hurting him so much; so much that he wanted to rip it out of his chest and crush it with his foot. And he would have if it weren't for something inside of his gut telling him not to. This heart was important; out of all the ones he had inside of his body, he couldn't get rid of this one, no matter how much it hurt.

Kisame stared at the tan in disbelief, thinking that he would have put up more of a fight for Ishiko than this. "This can't be happening," he mumbled.

Apparently, Keisuke had heard him. "Oh, but it is happening Kisame-san. I've won, and Kakuzu-san has lost." His brown eyes stared at the blue man as the smile grew on his pale face. "And soon, you'll lose too." At those words, Kisame's grip on Dariru tightened as he pulled the girl closer to his body, feeling some relief wash over him when he felt her tiny arm go around his waist.

"If you so much as _touch her_," the blue man growled, "I'll rip you into so many pieces, that not even Ishiko will recognize you."

A small laugh came from the man. "Oh, that'll be hard to do if she comes to me willingly." Kisame bared his teeth and unconsciously parted his lips to show off the pointed bones like an animal. The threatening gesture made Keisuke smile even more, "But enough chit-chat. Ishiko-chan and I have a long way to travel, and we should get going now."

The young man turned, with Ishiko following him at his side, and began to walk away from the group. Dariru looked at Kakuzu, hoping he would stand up and try to stop them, but the man made no such movement. It was as if someone had chained him to the ground and he had lost all hope of breaking the chains. Not even Ishiko glanced at the tan man as they began to get further and further away from the baffled group. _No…it can't end like this!_ Her mind pleaded, forcing her body to take action. She managed to pull herself out of Kisame's grip and ran to the retreating siblings.

"Ishiko-chan!" she cried out, hoping to draw the girl's attention. "Ishiko-chan, don't do this!" The short-haired girl ignored the sound of pounding feet rushing to her from behind, knowing it was just her blue lover trying to stop her. "Ishiko, please!" Just as she was within arm's reach of her friend, a figure dressed in the Akatsuki cloak stepped in front of her. The girl didn't have time to stop and bumped right into the figure's chest; she would have fallen backward had the being not grabbed her arm. The footsteps behind her stopped and she looked up, recognizing the solemn face of Kisame's partner.

"Itachi-san?" She looked at him questioningly. Wasn't he supposed to be at a different base?

The Uchiha turned his head to look behind him at Keisuke. "What about this one, Keisuke-sama?" At the sound of the honorific, Dariru's heart skipped a beat in fear and she began to pull herself away from the man's grip; but his thin fingers just tightened around her arm.

"Might as well bring her too," Keisuke sighed in thought, "She seems eager to make sure my dear sister is safe. And it'll be easier to use her without Kisame-san around." Itachi swung the girl to the side just as Kisame charged at them with Samehada raised in fury. The blue man swung at his partner, who swerved his body to the side gracefully before side-kicking the large man in the gut. Dariru shrieked in protest and kicked out at her captor. The Uchiha twisted her arm behind her and applied pressure, sending waves of pain to her shoulder. He could break it he wanted to, and every time she tried to move he just put more pressure on her arm.

"Careful Itachi," Keisuke warned, "you'll worry my sister if you break her arm." Itachi grunted in a reply and took out a kunai knife just as Kisame recovered himself.

"Itachi," the blue man panted, trying to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him. "Please, let her go." How could his partner do this? He had even considered the black-haired man his friend; hell, he practically trusted him with his own life! Surely there was a reason for this betrayal.

"I'm sorry," Itachi mumbled, pressing the blade of the knife against Dariru's throat as he stepped back. "But Sasuke's life is on the line too. I'm sorry." The Uchiha caught up with his superior, and with a simple hand gesture from Keisuke, the four of them disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"NO!" Kisame hollered, running at the large fume of smoke, trying to find any sign of Dariru or anybody else inside. But there was no one in there but himself. By the time the smoke had completely disappeared, the blue man was furious with himself, with Keisuke, Ishiko, Itachi, and Kakuzu. He punched at the rock wall with a furious scream, ignoring the pain that came from the rock tearing open the skin on his knuckles. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be! He didn't just lose the love of his life to some psychotic, incestuous brother! But the sudden loneliness told him that it had happened; that all of this wasn't just a bad dream. He had lost Dariru.

His head snapped at the still kneeling Kakuzu, anger flaring up deep inside of him. The stitched man hadn't done a thing to stop Keisuke, and now they were gone. They would have saved the girls if he had helped out! Kisame stormed to the broken man, "You bastard," he hissed, grabbing the tan man by the collar and pulled him to his feet. "YOU FUCKING _BASTARD!_" With adrenaline and anger pumping through his veins, Kisame slammed Kakuzu against the wall, glaring at his saddened eyes. "They're gone! They're gone because of YOU!" Kakuzu didn't even look back at the blue man as he kept yelling. "If you'd have done something, they wouldn't have been taken!"

Sad emerald eyes finally looked down at furious white eyes. "What was I supposed to do?" Kakuzu replied, "She wouldn't even look at me. All she wants now is Keisuke…that's all she ever wanted…" the eyes looked away once more as if Kakuzu didn't have the strength to control his limp body movements.

A disbelieving scoff came from Kisame, "Since when did you give up so easily? Didn't you ever consider the possibility that she was under a jutsu of some sort? That maybe, Keisuke was controlling her, somehow?"

Kakuzu heard what Kisame was saying, but he had no response for him. He had considered all of the possibilities that could make Ishiko act like that. But he hadn't sensed any form of jutsu shrouding her; the only thing that seemed to happen was that hurting heart inside his chest.

"…_The heart inside of her chest pounds for _me_." _

The words just made the heart inside of him pound even more, sending more pain through his body. His hand tightened on his cloak as if that would calm the muscle down.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I love Dariru, and I'm gonna go get her back." Kisame stated in disappointment at the tan man's attitude, releasing his hold on the collar. "You can just sit there and sulk for all I care."

…_The heart inside of her chest pounds for _me_."_

Kakuzu slammed the back of his head against the wall at his own stupidity. That heart inside of Ishiko wasn't her heart at all; it was one of his! The man looked down at his chest and rested his hand over the pounding heart, now realizing why it was so precious to him. It was Ishiko's real heart. But his eyes widened in realization. Was that why her kekkei genkai was getting weaker? He could save her! He just needed to find her first.

"Kisame! I'm going with you." Kisame stopped momentarily, smirking at seeing the man gain balls again.

---

Dariru felt like she couldn't breathe, and she clawed anything she could grab for her vision had disappeared. Itachi was a traitor. That much she knew. Ishiko… She hadn't yet decided her feelings for Ishiko just yet. Sure it was okay to miss your brother, but going as far as to completely ignore Kakuzu was unforgivable. Her vision finally cleared and it looked like they were in a temple of some sort. There were statues of lions holding paper lanterns in their mouths and the entrances were open on both sides. And as bright and lighted the building was from the outside, it was raining and thundering on the outside.

She didn't recognize the landscape, either because the low lighting on the outside made it difficult to see or this was a place she has never been before. But she could make out the shapes of the buildings which were ragged and uneven. No light was on as far as she could see.

"Do you recognize this place Ishi-chan?" Keisuke said kindly and craned his neck to see Ishiko's eyes, but they only focused on him for a second before looking around, they grew wide with wonder and she spread her arms, laughing like a child.

"It's the Ishibi Temple!" She cried happily and Dariru recognized this as her child-like behavior. Keisuke smiled, and Dariru saw genuine joy in his eyes, but then they narrowed and flashed over to her. She gasped silently at the malice and backed up, bumping into Itachi.

"Itachi-san!" She gasped and the taller man grabbed her wrist, pulling her close.

"Be quiet; just do as Keisuke or Ishiko tells you for now." He whispered harshly into her ear. Dariru stilled, glancing over at Ishiko who was looking at the large statues of lions in pure awe. Keisuke glanced over at the two but wrote them off for now. Itachi knew his place, and no doubt Dariru could do anything against him.

"That's right Ishi-chan, the temple you were named after." Keisuke cooed and Ishiko but she sneezed and Keisuke appeared in a flicker next to her, like it was a sign of some dangerous disease. Ishiko turned around and smiled at him but he only embraced her, resting his head on top of hers and turned to the side slightly. Dariru knew something was wrong. All of a sudden he wasn't wearing a smile but his face looked like it was worn of dread and grief.

"Onii-sama?" Ishiko questioned, and Keisuke released her, looking over at Itachi and Dariru with a kind smile.

"Itachi-san, show Ishi-chan to the bathing area, I need to speak with our dear Dariru-san for a moment." Itachi nodded and without hesitating for a second and appeared next to Ishiko, holding out his arm very much like a gentlemen would. Ishiko nodded up at him and took it, they disappeared into a hallway and Dariru nearly took off after them if not for Keisuke's arm suddenly appearing before her.

"Let Ishi-chan live in her dream world for now. Just look how happy she is." Keisuke tried but Dariru glared up at the man.

"Just what did you do to her?" Dariru growled. Keisuke sighed and set a hand on her shoulder, shrugging as if he had no idea.

"I'm guessing she's going into a state of shock, her rational senses must have shut down and she has her ten-year old mentality. It must wear off eventually." He finished sadly but Dariru felt absolutely no sympathy or the man. He took her away from Kisame.

"Where did you take us?" Dariru asked again, her tone as cold as ice. Keisuke noticed it but he only smiled as a response. She was a feisty one. But he guessed she had to be to keep Kisame nibbling on her. He could tell that much from the evident bite marks on her shoulders and neck. Keisuke shook his forefinger and held it to his mouth.

"Can't have you knowing that. Your smart aren't you? Guess not if you are Kisame's fuck-buddy per say." Keisuke dodged Dariru's fist and leg as he avoided them both and hopped a few paces away, but Dariru wasn't about to let it go there. She chased after him, throwing fist after fist but Keisuke just seemed to dodge each one with ease.

"Anger isn't a very good thing to enhance jutsu Dariru-san. Just look at Kakuzu-san." Dariru had enough of this bullshit the man was spewing out. She growled and managed to land a kick, as weak as it was but it was still a kick. He grunted lightly and held his arm, that must have been a weak spot for him, she took the chance to flicker behind him and before he could dodge and clasped her hands and swung her hands directly into his bicep, knocking him sideways but he caught himself quickly and slid across the marble floors.

"What a fearsome little girl you are." Keisuke said with a slight frown, like he really didn't expect Dariru to fight back. Dariru growled and held up a fist.

"I can be even more fearsome if you don't send me and Ishiko home right now!!" She yelled out and Keisuke stood up, dusting himself up.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Dariru-san, though maybe if you asked in a nicer tone I might tell you more on the subject. Come on Dariru-san I know your parents taught you better than that." He smiled again. Dariru growled. He seemed to have taken that for a no and noticed Itachi walk back into the main hall of the temple.

"Well then if you don't mind, I'm going to assist my dearest little Ishi-chan." Dariru physically winced at the excessive closeness of the two. Keisuke kept referring to her like he was just a little too close for a naturally brother and sister relationship. Was he possibly incestuous? Keisuke made a hand motion to Itachi, who nodded and appeared behind Dariru and grabbed her while Keisuke hopped over to the hallway and proceeded towards his sister's direction.

"What is up with him?" Dariru asked aloud. "Obsession," Itachi grumbled in response as his onyx eyes stayed focused on the spot where Keisuke had been standing. "He's been after Ishiko-san for a long time and has almost died because of it."

The girl scoffed and crossed her arms, "If this is your way of trying to make me feel bad for him, it's not working."

His eyes shifted to look at her, "I'm not trying to make you feel anything for that man. I already know where your loyalties lay, Dariru-san. All I can do is answer some of your questions."

"Really?" The girl couldn't help but glare at the man, "Then why in the hell are you working for him?" she couldn't help but raise her voice at the quiet man, "Why the _fuck _did you betray your own partner!?"

Ever since she had been in the Akatsuki there was only one emotion that Itachi wore, and that was one of a person who didn't care about what was going on around him. His face would always be blank, and he would never let any form of emotion show in public. However, she saw him break that rule. It was a small gesture of emotion, but she saw it and he knew that she saw it too.

Itachi's hands were clenched into fists and his arms were shaking very visibly from the exertion of self-control. "There's a reason why my otouto is in that base. All Keisuke-sama has to do is say one word to Pein-sama, and Sasuke will die." He licked his lips nervously, the sudden visible emotion made Dariru drop her guard. "I have to do this. I've worked so hard to keep my little brother safe. I can't lose him because I didn't follow simple orders."

A small huff came from the girl, "Trade someone else's loss to prevent your own." Neither spoke to the other as the storm continued raging out side. She still believed Itachi was a traitor, but she could also understand why he did what he did. If Kisame's life was on the line, she would be willing to do anything to save him. It sent a cold shiver through her body, making the girl rub the sides of her exposed forearms.

The man motioned his head for her to move and mumbled, "C'mon. I'll show you your room." She followed him, but couldn't help but look back at the hall that Ishiko had disappeared into. She remembered how light And excited Keisuke had acted when he had made his way down that same hallway.

"Does Keisuke-teme love Ishiko-chan?" She hoped the man would be able to answer the question.

"Yes." He nodded as he led her down one of the hallways.

"Does he love her more than a brother should love his sister?"

There was silence for a long time before Itachi nodded slowly, "Yes."

Dariru couldn't help but laugh at the situation. It must have been a real slap in the face for that brown-haired man to find out his sister wasn't carrying his child. Of course, her light mood changed to one of terror. If Keisuke knew about the twins, would he try to kill them before they were even born? It made the girl fearful for the babies and for her currently unstable friend. What would he do to her and the twins?

---

Ishiko looked down at her stomach, running a soapy hand over it happily. It was beginning to protrude out, indicating that she was indeed with child. Though, her heart was disappointed that the twins weren't from her brother's seed, she was still happy she was going to be a mother. There were only six months left until she would go into labor, and she was already getting impatient. She wanted to be a mother now! But perhaps there was something, or someone, she could practice being a mother to. Maybe Keisuke wouldn't mind letting her act like a mom to him?

The girl grabbed the pale full of water and dumped it over her head, washing away the rest of the soap that lingered in her hair and one her body. Sitting in the warm pool of water was the best part of the whole bathing experience; it was just so relaxing that it made her wish that the Akatsuki base had a proper bathing area like this one. It would certainly make the members more relaxed, and maybe even friendlier. But the girl shrugged to herself and stood up. This place was better than the base anyway; after all, Keisuke was here with her now, and that was all her heart wanted. Even though parts of her body disagreed with her heart, she ignored them. Fairytales always told people to follow their heart, and whenever they did, thing turned out the way they wanted. And right now, her heart was telling her she loved Keisuke. So, she'd listen to it, even if the vast majority of her wanted to run away from him.

A delightful shudder went through her the moment her foot was submerged in the warm waters of the small pool. It felt even better when she had sat on one of the underwater ledges, making the water's surface lap at the bottom of her chin. She took a deep breath and sighed, letting her body relax completely into the warm embrace of the water. It would have been more fun if someone had joined her; then she wouldn't have felt so alone in such a big room.

As if her wish had been granted, someone entered the room and slid the door close. The girl stood on the ledge excitedly to see her new companion. Keisuke stood there, taking off his wet sandals without taking his eyes off of her. He smiled warmly and said, "How is the water Ishi-chan? Too hot? Too cold?"

She shook her head, "It feels great Onii-sama! Are you going to come in too?"

He nodded, "Yes. But I need to wash myself first. Wouldn't want to get that nice water dirty, would we?" She giggled and shook her head before sitting back down, waiting impatiently for her older brother. By the time she had looked at her hands to see the little wrinkles on her fingers, Keisuke stepped into the water and sat next to her. She smiled and snuggled against him. "I missed you Onii-sama." Her brother wrapped an arm around her waist and placed a kiss on her head.

"Call me 'Onii-koi', Ishi-koi." He commanded softly into her ear.

"Okay…Onii-koi."

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I have no idea why but I've really been having a craving for chocolate... and my house provides me with absolutely none.... my hair feels so soft again!


	39. Chapter 39

More incest! Whoop! Whoop! ...Is it so bad for me to be cheering for incest? Oh well. I have a personal 'Naruto Shippuden' night that I watch on hulu LOL. It's actually a very good site to watch anime.

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Chapter Thirty-Nine

Keisuke smirked and looked down to Ishiko, satisfied with his new name from her. 'Onii-koi'. He could really get used to that.

"Remember we used to do this all the time." Keisuke cooed cleaning off her face with a washcloth she only winced for a second but relaxed and opened her chocolate eyes.

"Remember Ishi-koi?" He pulled her up to his bare lap and she rested her hands on his shoulders. Something was wrong here. She shouldn't be sitting on his lap like this. But her heart burned whenever any resisting thoughts came into play, so she ignored it. Ishiko nodded, not finding any energy in smiling at him and he frowned.

"Something wrong Ishi-koi?" Keisuke asked, lightly nipping the bottom of her chin as she shuddered. Something bothered her about that action, bu her heart raced and she sighed deeply. If he continued actions like that she wasn't sure what she would do, so she answered him quickly.

"No. How is Dariru-chan?" Ishiko asked; looking at her brother fully and he released her from his tiny embrace and placed his arms on the edges of the pool, glancing at the door.

"Come in, Itachi-san," Keisuke said and pulled Ishiko closer, pressing her chest into his and even though she blushed he didn't seem to mind at all. Like it was something natural. Itachi walked in, turning his eyesight as soon as he saw Ishiko –bare- in Keisuke's –also bare- lap. It was like some incest porno, and he walked on set by accident.

"I just showed Dariru to her room. I take it you and Ishiko-san will be sharing the main chamber?" Keisuke glanced at Ishiko for a moment before waving an arm to the man.

"Yes. And we would like to continue our bath together, thank you Itachi-san." Itachi nodded and looked up for a split second, recognizing the longing look in Ishiko's eyes.

It didn't take an idiot to see that she was frowning.

---

Dariru huffed; even the bedrooms had large golden statues of lions. But she was so worried about Kisame. Even she had no idea where she was. The door opened and she turned, a kunai already in hand, but she relaxed seeing Itachi's plain ace again.

"Are you always this paranoid?" Itachi asked softly as he continued in.

"Well I'm not always kidnapped while my friend is turned into a heartless-incest victim." Dariru spat. Itachi rolled his eyes, oh how some people could be so bothered by incest. But Dariru closed her eyes in a fit of anger and when the older Uchiha walked closer she couldn't help but open one eye in curiosity.

"How are they?" Itachi shrugged.

"Bathing together." Dariru shuddered visibly.

"This isn't her. I know it isn't. Something is up here." Dariru persisted but Itachi simply shook his head. The Uchiha seemed to not want to delve into the matter. If Dariru got too involved it may complicate things, and he had no room for risks right now, since it was Sasuke he was trying to protect this time.

"Just leave it be." He absolutely refused to tell her about Ishiko's frown. She knew she had done wrong, which meant Ishiko's proper mentality was returning. But Dariru didn't need to know that, if she did she may try to interfere. But the male knew Keisuke had no patience for anything interfering at this point in the plan. But the brunette girl stood up quickly, puffing out her chest and standing as tall as she could.

"I will not! This is Ishiko we're talking about! You and I both know how loyal she is, especially to Kakuzu." Dariru said sternly and Itachi rolled his eyes. She made a mocking face at Itachi's disinterested reaction; either he was completely blind to Ishiko's strange actions, or he was keeping something from her. Of course, since Kisame had told her many stories about how great his partner was to have in a tough situation, she was guessing it was the latter. The girl paced her room and stopped in front of the lions, glaring at it suspiciously as if someone were watching here through the carved eyes. Perhaps Ishiko was under some sort of genjutsu; after all, in the base Keisuke had placed one on Dariru just by talking. He could be doing the exact same thing to his sister.

"It's for your own good," Itachi tried to convince her, but she just flipped him the bird and he rolled his eyes. She had changed a lot from the timid and curious little girl who was nothing more than a cleaner. Then again, living with an organization full of criminals could change a person quite dramatically. "Trust me, just keep your nose out of this for now," and then added, "or else you may worry Kisame-san the next time you see him."

At the mention of the blue man the girl seemed to drop her hostility and looked at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, if you don't stop being curious then Keisuke-sama _will_ punish you." She crossed her arms and pushed out her hip to one side, apparently not impressed with his warning. Itachi shook his head in frustration, already knowing he was going to regret his next words. "Of course, by 'punish' I don't necessarily mean he'll beat you." The message seemed to get through to her head as her hostile stance shifted into one of fear, her hands rubbing her arms in a feeble effort to try to comfort herself.

"Alright," she mumbled, "I'll keep out of it. For now," she added the moment she saw a hint of relief on the man's face.

--

When it came to Ishiko, Kakuzu was more than willing to bear through any storm nature could throw at him. However, after witnessing numerous mud slides, rock slides, and giant trees getting struck by lightning, Kisame had been able to finally convince the tan man that they should wait for the worst of the storm to pass by before continuing. The two men sat impatiently in a tiny cave, both of them glaring at the storm raging outside and mentally telling it to hurry up and be done with. Kisame was thankful that this was a thunderstorm; it made the outside air warm despite the ice-cold rain that fell from the clouds, giving the men no real need to make a fire. Not that it would since all of the wood was drenched in water and none of them had any special fire-jutsu that could bypass that problem.

Kisame stared at the men across from him and asked, "So what made you go from 'sulky emo kid', to the regular Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu kept glaring at the storm when he spoke, "She's being controlled by Keisuke." The blue man rolled his eyes; it would have been nice if the stitched man had come to that conclusion _before_ the girls were kidnapped. "It must be because of the heart that I gave her. That's how he's able to have such a strong grip on her."

Kisame raised a confused eyebrow, "You…gave her a heart? What was wrong with her old one?"

"She was dying," the man sighed, not really wanting to explain the whole thing right now, "it was the only way I could save her. So I took her heart. I thought I had put it back in, but apparently it was the wrong one." He stood up, noticing the storm winds beginning to die down and the thunder growing fainter. "Let's go." Kisame followed the man back outside and ignored the rain that continued to fall.

"So, do you have any idea where we should start looking?" Kisame hollered over the roar of the pounding rain.

Kakuzu looked at him nervously; he wasn't quite sure where Keisuke could have taken them. But he had a good guess…

"It's just a hunch," he replied, "but I think they're in a temple."

"Which one?"

"The one Ishiko was named after."

Kisame rolled his eyes in annoyance, but said nothing. As long as Kakuzu knew the temple name and its location, it was all good. He just hoped they'd get there before anything bad happened.

--

Ishiko slipped into the clean pajamas easily, smiling at how soft they were. The bath with her brother had almost ended baldy. At least, that's what her gut had told her; her heart was still trying to tell her that it would have been fine to let Keisuke keep kissing at her neck and rubbing her sides, but it hadn't felt right. Sure her heart loved every second of it, but the rest of her body—and she meant _every_ part of her body—didn't like it at all. While she stood there, caressing the sleeve of the shirt, she pictured the bathing scenario again, but instead of sitting in Keisuke's lap, she was Kakuzu's. Immediately her heart stopped its blissful fluttering; however, the rest of her tingled with excitement and lust. She would have continued with the fantasy had her brother's voice not pulled her out of her dream world.

"Hurry up and come to bed Ishi-koi," Keisuke suggested more than commanded. "It's cold in here without you."

"Coming!" she chirped before exiting the tiny bathroom. The main chamber was bigger than Konan's room and a lot fancier. The sheets looked and felt like they were made of silk and the bed itself was so soft that she felt like she was sitting on a cloud. When she sat on the comforting furniture, Keisuke grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.

He breathed in her scent and sighed. "I've waited so long to finally touch you again, Ishi-koi…" The moment she felt his lips on hers, the heart inside her chest pounded so fast against her chest that she thought it might burst. But no matter how much her heart had wanted him to keep going, the rest of her screamed 'NO NO! It's not right! Not with _him_!'. She pulled away from the kiss before he could slide his tongue into her mouth. He gave her a questioning look, "Is something wrong, Ishi-koi?"

"I'm…" her eyes darted around the room, looking for some sort of excuse to give him. "I'm…worried."

He lifted his eyebrow higher, "Worried?" he echoed as if he didn't know the meaning of the word.

She nodded hurriedly, "About Dariru-chan."

A tiny chuckle rumbled from his throat as his arms wrapped around her waist in embrace. "There's nothing to worry about, dear sister. Itachi-san will make sure she's alright."

"But I don't like Itachi!" she whined, thankful she could use the Uchiha as part of her excuse. The girl grabbed her brother's hands and pleaded, "Please Onii-koi. Can I go visit her? Just for a little bit?" Keisuke's eyes shifted but Ishiko only brought her face closer, pleading and whining. She knew of all people he couldn't resist her pleading. But he never deprived her of anything, even as kids.

"_I want chocolate!" Ishiko whined, throwing her arms in the air. Keisuke glanced down at her, not annoyed at all she was bothering him while he was going over ANBU papers. _

"_Not now, you'll spoil dinner." Keisuke scolded but Ishiko only whined more. She managed to crawl into his lap and pulled on one of his bangs. _

"_Ow! Ishiko-chan I told you before not now. After dinner." Keisuke tried again but Ishiko wouldn't have any of it, she crossed her arms but leaned up, kissing her brother on the cheek and she could have sworn he looked away with a small blush on his cheeks. _

"_Just… Just don't tell Mother. Come here." _

"You're such a spoiled little girl, but you've been so good lately." Keisuke murmured, running his hands under her pajamas ad feeling the warm almond skin. Ishiko nodded, trying to keep the blush on her cheeks from appearing. His hands roamed until they reached the hem of her pants, but they stopped, knowing their limitations. She thanked God he had self-control. He finished and wrapped his arms around her waist, looking up at her comfortably.

"But just don't tell her where we are, that'll spoil the fun wouldn't it? And we'll have lots of fun I assure you, Ishi-koi." Keisuke smiled up at her and she nodded again, he loosed his grip and she broke free of it easily, not even glancing back as she left the large room.

---

"Dariru-chan?" Ishiko poked her head into an empty room and frowned. Damn it the temple was too damn big and it had too many damn rooms. Of course the Ishibi Temple was first built as a royal retreat in case of an emergency or for vacation but even so it still had way too many rooms. Did the Tsuwa family used to have many members? She wouldn't be surprised. Many of them died from the Great Ninja War, and then the second war took out many as well. Then age came into play as well. Her and Keisuke were the last ones weren't they? A hand went over her now protruding stomach; her children may have the kekkei genkai as well.

She closed the large door and went to the next one, opening and finding no resident.

"What are you doing out of Keisuke-sama's sight?" A plain voice questioned but Ishiko didn't pay any mind. She went to the next door and opened it, sighing in frustrations when she found nothing.

"He gave me permission. I'm looking for Dariru-chan." Ishiko said and Itachi simply shook his head.

"Follow me then." He may as well assist her; if it was helping her then Keisuke wouldn't think of reprimanding him. Ishiko looked at him as he started walking and jogged after him.

"Thank you, Itachi-san." The older Uchiha only grunted in response. They finally reached a different door, with gold and red decorating it. It was the room that was meant for the heir of the Tsuwa family. Itachi didn't bother to open it for her, but as soon as Ishiko recognized it, he walked away like he had personal business to attend to. Ishiko directed her attention on the door before opening it slowly, barely dodging a kunai that came her way.

"Dariru-chan! It's me!!" Ishiko whispered harshly and looked at her friend who was preparing another kunai. Dariru blinked and smiled nervously.

"Sorry, sorry." She apologized quickly and jogged over to Ishiko lacing her hands with Ishiko's.

"Are you alright? Did Keisuke try anything?" Dariru asked, glad to see Ishiko semi-normal. Ishiko sighed, closing her eyes.

"'Try anything' is an understatement." Ishiko sighed out and Dariru looked at her in curiosity. Ishiko's eyes shifted and she looked at Dariru. If she wasn't allowed to tell Dariru where they were then she would just have to have Dariru figure it out on her own!

"Dariru-chan! Do you remember that one time I left for a mission and I wore my headband?" Ishiko asked eagerly. Dariru lifted an eyebrow.

"No… Why?" Dariru asked back.

"Onii-sama told me I couldn't tell you where we are, but if you figure it out yourself then I'm still clean." Ishiko said and continued.

"Think Dariru, I was named after this Temple. I and Deidara come from the same village." Dariru nodded. Deidara's headband… it was from Iwagakure. Ishiko watched eagerly as Dariru connected the dots.

"Iwa!" Dariru called out and Ishiko quickly covered her mouth, she glanced over at the door strategically and looked back at her friend.

"Listen, I'll teach you a jutsu I learned on finding Kisame and Kakuzu. You know what color Water-type ninja are?" Dariru shook her head. Wouldn't they be blue? That made sense. Water would be blue. But she still wasn't sure.

"It's a turquoise color. But for Kisame it might be a light blue." She glance to the side and began some hand signs.

"You have to concentrate solely on Kisame if you want to find him. It an only locate a few people at a time, bu keep Kisame in your mind." Dariru nodded, memorizing each hand sign Ishiko made.

"Meet me in the bathrooms at midnight. I'll teach you a communication jutsu. Spread the news since Itachi is Onii-sama's puppet right now." Her heart ached and Ishiko visibly winced.

"Ishiko-chan! Are you alright?" Dariru started, grabbing the girl's shoulder but Ishiko shrugged her off.

"I'm fine. Just do it." Dariru nodded and Ishiko's heart burned.

"Be careful, Ishiko-chan." Dariru pleaded.

Ishiko couldn't help but smile at her. Dariru was her only hope at this point.

* * *

Imogen Heap is so cool. I love two of their songs but really T.a.T.u still has my heart.


	40. Chapter 40

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!! May your new year be full of good surprises and joy and maybe even new love! Me and Blood Thirsty Me have decided to surprise you all with not three- not four- not five- but SIX new chapters!! So we certainly hope the best and have a good evening!!

* * *

Chapter 40

Ishiko returned to the main chamber quickly, not wanting to raise her brother's suspicions. When she entered the room she saw him lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling in boredom. He didn't acknowledge her until the door had shut. Without hesitation he turned his head to the side to look at her, greeting her with a warm smile.

"Did you find your friend?" Keisuke sat up, his brown locks free of the ponytail and slid over his shoulders. Ishiko did her best not to stare at the sight.

"Yes. Itachi-san showed me her room."

The smile tugged wider at her words, "How nice of him." He held out a hand to her, "Come here Ishi-koi. I've missed you." Something inside her wanted her to run far away from him, but she forced her legs to walk towards him slowly. So far he hadn't noticed her nervousness, even when he took her hand and gently pulled her to him. A hand slid down her side gently and almost teasingly all the way to her thigh. She couldn't help but let out a shaky breath when he kissed her forehead and his hand pulled her leg closer to him. Again, her heart pounded in glee and the rest of her shrieked in terror.

Without a second, the girl yawned and nuzzled he face into his shoulder, purposefully hiding her face from his. "I'm tired Onii-koi. May I go to sleep now?"

He paused as if the words had caught him by surprise, but let out an amused huff. "Of course, Ishi-koi. Forgive me for keeping you awake." His hands left her body after a moment's hesitation before sliding away from her to give her room to crawl beneath the silk blankets. She pulled the soft fabric up to her chin and shivered slightly at the feel of the cold sheets. Keisuke crawled next to her and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Have nice dreams, Ishi-koi."

Ishiko nodded and closed her eyes, "Thank you, Onii-koi."

--

Dariru locked her door and sat on the floor, making sure the bed was hiding her body. She'd never been one for ninjutsu or genjutsu, to her they always took too long to conjure up in a fight, but that didn't mean she couldn't do them well. The new jutsu Ishiko had shown her looked difficult and would probably take numerous tried for her to get right, but she had to do this. For both of their sakes. At first she just practiced the hand signs, making sure she got them in the right order numerous times in a row. Then she began to rouse her chakra, making sure to concentrate most of it to her eyes. Her body felt loose and tingly, indicating she was ready to perform whatever jutsu she pleased. Without another thought, she made the appropriate hand signs and mumbled the jutsu name.

Nothing happened.

The girl tried again, and again the jutsu failed. An aggravated grumble came from her throat and she hit the back of her head on the bed's mattress. What was she doing wrong? She got the hand signs right, she had enough chakra for it…what else was there?

"_You have to concentrate solely on Kisame if you want to find him…"_

A small sigh came from the girl at her nervous stupidity. How could she have forgotten something like that? She concentrated on her chakra flow for a split second before setting her mind on her lover. At first she just sat there in the warmth the memories created; it was like a campfire in the middle of a dark forest, comforting and protective. It sparked her confidence that that Ishiko and her will get out of this situation alive.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on a memory of Kisame and herself before performing the proper signs. "Sa-Chiraito no jutsu." An overwhelming sensation came over him and could feel the jutsu use up her chakra. She had to concentrate hard to keep the memory in head and to control the technique. When she opened her eyes she could the top of the temple as if she were hovering above. A small gasp escaped at the new sight, but kept quiet after seeing the vision waver at her sudden change of emotion. She saw a dark green chakra in the temple, which she recognized as her own just by the familiar feeling of it. _Looks like I'm the oddball when it comes to water-nins. _She scoffed before concentrating on memories solely about Kisame.

Immediately, her vision shifted across the landscape, leaving the temple behind. Flashes of green, brown and blue rushed beneath her. Again, the jutsu began to waver as it ate up her chakra, but she held firm. She wouldn't let go until she had found him. And then, the rushing forests and tiny streams halted as her sight followed a powerful light blue chakra. Immediately, she recognized the powerful sensation as Kisame. He was on the way and she could faintly feel the presence of someone else following him; she prayed it was Kakuzu. At the reassuring sight of his chakra, she released her hold on the jutsu, snapping her vision back to the bedroom.

She gasped for air and breathed heavily, not too certain if had been holding her breath the entire time or if the technique had drained that much energy from her. The chakra had been making its way slowly towards the temple, but it was still a long ways away from the building. Joy coursed through her tired body and she couldn't help but smile at the familiar feeling of his chakra. Kisame was coming after her, and hopefully, Kakuzu was with him to take Ishiko back. The blue man did love her. There would only be one reason why someone would make this much effort just to get a person back and that was because they cared. Relief washed over her, and for once, the voice had nothing to say to shoot down her happiness. She had been right, and her doubts had been wrong.

Hope and joy filled her tired body as she stood up slowly, taking her time in crawling on the bed. She didn't even bother to get under the blankets when she lay down and the soft surface. Her eyelids closed and she fell asleep with a content smile on her face.

_He loves me…_

---

Keisuke kept his eyes on Ishiko's sleeping figure, glaring slightly at the bulge of her stomach. She was developing rather fast, but he would be sure to find out more information. He bent down to lightly nip at her neck before he tossed the sheets aside and stepped out himself. Guess he would have to resort to what he was had to do when he was in his teens. Though he wasn't a virgin, he didn't really want to make love to anyone other than Ishiko. A couple of times when he was still in Iwa he slept with more than willing girls but had to think of his sister's face to actually reach an orgasm.

But he did have a substitute; the Dariru girl has the same eyes… Chocolate eyes very much like Ishiko's… He could work with that. He stopped in his tracks momentarily before glancing back at his sleeping sibling and changed direction, heading right where he sensed the girl's resistant chakra.

---

Dariru was a bit cute in her sleep, Keisuke had to admit. She curled in the same way Ishiko did, and her short hair was frayed and loose across the pillow. She must have been exhausted; she didn't even bother with the sheets. Those would have been his sheets if not for his betrayal to the village and his father had not gone to war. But he brought up one hand and smoothed the hair down –it was silky to the touch- and Keisuke felt himself smirk. Dariru's finger twitch but she didn't wake up, and the boy lowered his head to take in her scent.

Keisuke frowned, that wasn't very much like Ishiko but he tried to ignore it. But it was making it easy enough that she didn't have the sheets covering her. He proceeded, crawling delicately onto the bed and hearing no disturbance in her breathing he continued, removing his pajama shirt and throwing it to the ground and focused on Dariru again, working like some sort of shadow. He squeezed her shoulders gently, receiving a low moan from her and slid his hands down to her sides. She was quite thin, he discovered, thinner than Ishiko even.

She must have been dreaming of Kisame. _Oh well. At least she won't resist. _The Iwa spy thought, delighted this was going to be easier than he first assumed. But just to make sure, since she was already asleep, he may as well cast a genjutsu. He focused his chakra into his eyes and throat, whatever she sees and hears would all be Kisame. _I better get thanks for being this considerate to her own emotions. _Keisuke grumbled to himself. He continued his ministrations, smoothly moving his hands under her shirt and kissing her neck thoughtfully.

---

Kisame shivered and gained Kakuzu's attention.

"What? Your cold?" Kakuzu mused but Kisame shook his head, grumbling at the older man for practically insulting him.

"No. But I think the storm is letting up." As soon as the words left his mouth Kakuzu stood up and started stalking off.

"Watch it Kakuzu! We're on a high ledge and-" He walked too fast for his own understanding and rammed right into the back of the tan man, pushing them both roughly to the ground with a loud thump. Kisame rubbed his head and he felt Kakuzu knee him in the gut.

"Get off me!" Kakuzu rasped out but before Kisame could fully even get off the man, the small ledge they were crumpled on shifted in an unnatural way.

"Shit."

---

"I can't believe you did something like this Pein!" Konan yelled and Pein merely rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"It was required-"

"It's endangering Ishiko and Dariru!!" Konan said again. Pein sucked in a quick breathe and looked at his frustrated woman. Ever since he let those two in Konan had been so much more maternal. She's been worrying over their health. It was like she actually was their mother. She even went and bought Ishiko those pregnancy tests! This certainly wasn't going to end pretty. And it was making his job that much tougher.

"Konan. I hear what your saying but its not my decision here." Pein said again.

"Well you better damn well _make _it your decision to make!" Konan slammed her hand on his desk, creating a small crack.

"Konan-chan, I understand your pain here." A different voice called out and Konan directed her blue eyes in the new direction, seeing the real leader of the Akatsuki.

"Madara-sama?" She questioned and Madara nodded.

"The children are required, and so is Keisuke at this point. I trust the boy, and so shall you."

---

Ishiko felt the bed sink slightly, indicating that Keisuke was returning to bed. She hadn't fallen asleep, she had been too afraid of sleeping-in, and had noticed Keisuke leave the room shortly after she had "fallen asleep". He had been gone for a long time and it made her wonder where he had been doing; there really wasn't much to do in a semi-empty temple. Perhaps he had a meeting with Itachi? Her brother pressed against her back, his arm sliding around her waist possessively. The girl cursed to herself, knowing it would be hard to pry him off when it was time to leave.

But still, she waited patiently for her older brother to fall asleep. Hours passed by and he hadn't shifted from his position; however, his hold on her waist had loosened and she was thankful for that. It wasn't she sensed it was close to midnight did the girl begin to slip out of his hold slowly. He didn't stir or make a noise when Ishiko had slipped off the bed and stared at him for a moment, making sure he was still asleep. Still, there was no sign of disturbance from the slumbering man and she took the opportunity to sneak out of the room, thankful she was a trained kunoichi.

It took her a while to find the bathrooms in the dark, but she found them and waited for Dariru. She tapped her foot impatiently on the tile floor, cursing herself for not giving her friend directions when she had the chance. Nervousness made her jittery, her mind playing numerous bad scenarios in her head. The girl did her best to ignore them, but she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Keisuke woke up alone.

The bathroom door opened with a small creaking noise, making Ishiko turn and hide around the corner in case it were Itachi or her brother. However, the familiar questioning whisper of her friend sent relief through Ishiko's body as she revealed herself. Dariru seemed to freeze for a moment before relaxing too. "You scared me Ishiko-chan," she whispered with a frightened and bothered look on her face.

"Sorry," she gave her friend a meek smile as they met at the middle, hugging each other for the comfort and reassurance that everything was okay. When they pulled away she asked, "Were you able to find him?"

Dariru nodded excitedly, "Yes. Kisame's on the way and I think Kakuzu's with him." Ishiko couldn't help but smile at the news that Kakuzu was with the blue man. There was still hope for the two of them. "But they're still a few days away." She added but Ishiko dismissed the fact hurriedly.

"That's alright. As long as they're on the way, everything will be fine." However, Ishiko still noticed the bothered look on Dariru's face and couldn't help but ask. "You okay?"

Dariru bit her lower lip and shook her head, "I don't know…I had the strangest dream just now…it…it didn't feel right."

"Was it another nightmare?"

She shook her head again. "No. Kisame was in it. But that's the problem," Ishiko gave her friend a confused look as the short-haired girl chewed on a knuckle. "At first, it was just me and him doing nothing really. Just…sitting…then he turned to me and, uh…" a small blush coated her cheeks, "he kissed me. And well, he kept kissing, but then it felt like I woke up when he went for the neck." She paused and furrowed her brow in confusion as if still trying to figure it out. "But he was still there when I woke up. I…I figured I was still dreaming. You've had dreams where you wake up and you do some normal things right?"

Ishiko nodded, seeing the distress in her friend's eyes. She must be stressed out from being away from Kisame. "Yeah. I've had some dreams like that."

"Well, he…he kept _going_," Dariru continued, "but…it didn't feel right. Like…um…" the girl blushed brighter and looked at the floor, "the size wasn't right. It wasn't, uh…wide enough." An embarrassed giggle came from her, "I didn't get very wet in that dream, but he seemed to be enjoying it." Again the distress returned to her face, "I'm sorry Ishiko-chan. I think I'm just too freaked out by this whole situation but…it was just too weird."

Ishiko bit her lip and nodded quickly, "I understand." But the pregnant girl kept her curiosity and paranoid horror hidden. Keisuke had left in the middle of the night…had he…had he put a genjutsu on Dariru to make it seem like it had been Kisame? The girl shook her head and for once was agreeing with her heart. No, Keisuke would never do that with someone Ishiko knew and held dear. But then her mind began to agree with Dariru….something just didn't feel right.

The girl shook the thought aside and cleared her throat. "Well…let's get started. We may not have a whole lot of time left."

--

Kakuzu pushed a rock off of his abdomen, taking in a deep breath the moment the pressure had been relieved. He was able to pull his legs out from beneath the small pile of rocks that covered them and winced as pain throbbed in his back and head. Everything was aching with some level of pain, but he knew nothing was too seriously injured. The man looked up from where they had fallen, propping himself against a boulder for support. It had been a pretty long fall; in fact, it was practically a miracle that they had survived, especially since they took part of the Cliffside with them.

"Kisame!" Kakuzu hollered, realizing he hadn't seen the blue man amongst the rubble. "God damn it Fish Face make some sort of noise so I can at least _try_ to find you!"

The tan man was answered with a pained "FUCK!" just behind the boulder he was up against. He climbed over the rocks and saw Kisame sitting on the grass with his back to him. Samehada was at the blue man's side and he could see his companion groping at his shoulder in pain. "AHH!" He hollered as his hands tried to squeeze his own shoulder. Kakuzu rolled his eyes and climbed clumsily over the rock pile, wincing at the stabbing pain in his leg, now realizing that it had been worse than he thought.

He sat next to the fuming Kisame as hard pain breaths came from both men. "What's broken?" the tan man asked after the pain had subsided.

"Shoulder popped out," he forced out through gritted teeth, "it won't—AHHH—realign properly."

"Damn it," Kakuzu hissed before helping his companion unbutton his cloak. Even as the fabric slid off, the man winced at the pain and Kakuzu couldn't help but whistle at what the fall had done. His shoulder had popped out of place and was even a little crooked. The muscle was swollen and there was obvious bruising beginning to develop around the area. This was going to hurt for the man.

"Okay," Kakuzu breathed, ripping Kisame's cloak into large strands, clumping them all together. "You're gonna need to bite onto this." Kisame grabbed the large clump with his good hand shoved as much as he could into his mouth. He huffed heavily through his nose and braced himself for what was to come. Without pause, and without hesitation, Kakuzu pressed and pulled the popped joint back into place, the sickening grinding and popping of bone drowning out the blue man's muffled screams. Kisame squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the gag out of his mouth, panting loudly from the fading rush of pain and adrenaline.

He looked down at his realigned shoulder and shook his head. "I'm still gonna need a sling for this." Wit his good hand, he unbuttoned the rest of his cloak and leaned forward enough for Kakuzu to grab it. The tan man grumbled as he wrapped the cloak around the blue man's injured arm until it was a proper sling.

"It'll have to do," Kakuzu grumbled as he helped the man up to his feet. "Anything else broken?"

Kisame shook his head, "No. But bringing Samehada along is gonna be a bother."

"That's your problem, not mine." Kakuzu growled. If Kisame hadn't have run into him, none of this would be happening.

The blue man glared at him, "I know that. I'm just saying I'm gonna be slow. So don't wait up for me if I can't keep up." The stitched man paused and stared at his struggling companion as he lifted the wrapped sword with his good arm. "Right now, we have to get to Dariru and Ishiko-san as quickly as possible. If that means leaving me behind, do it."

Kakuzu nodded slowly, "I understand."

* * *

Reviews are much appareciated.

Review Replies:

**Aquamarine-Acai:** Silly! Thanks for your review

**Cheeky Half-Demon: **Hahahaha! Becuase I have a writer-crush on him myself. And it's not gonna be Kakuzuuuuuu 3


	41. Chapter 41

You know... I was playing Naruto Revolution 1&2 in wii, and Kisame has such an Aussie voice its hilarious!! But then I realized, I actually have a thing for Aussies! So I was making fun on him saying 'mate!' everytime he talked and at the same time... I was kinda turned on by it. It was so odd. But my thing for Russians is was stringer than my thing for Aussie's.

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Chapter Forty-One

The blue man glared at him, "I know that. I'm just saying I'm gonna be slow. So don't wait up for me if I can't keep up." The stitched man paused and stared at his struggling companion as he lifted the wrapped sword with his good arm. "Right now, we have to get to Dariru and Ishiko-san as quickly as possible. If that means leaving me behind, do it."

Kakuzu nodded slowly, "I understand."

"Think I can help out?" A foreign voice called out happily and both men turned in alarm. A new male, black hair with amethyst eyes stared with amusement and kindness at the two Akatsuki members. Kakuzu glared and already had his tendrils slithering out.

"And who the hell are you?" He questioned with malice in his voice. The boy, maybe in his mid-twenties or so, changed his expression, now full of alert and worry. He waved his pale arms back and forth, but Kakuzu observed enough to see he wore an Iwa ANBU uniform, but the headband around his waist was scratched off.

"I'm just here to help, you see, since my birth I was assigned to protect Ishiko-senpai of all harm. Pretty much her guardian angel." He grinned at the end of his statement but quickly hopped up in time to avoid an oncoming attack from Kakuzu.

"That's bullshit. How do I know you're not just trying to kill her?" The boy's face- full of panic- turned for a second and he landed on top of a boulder, waving his hands in surrender.

"I have proof! Look." He shifted his kimono sleeve off, revealing a large burn, like he had been imprinted as a cow would be to mark which farmer they belonged to. The burn was kanji of Ishiko's name.

"I belong to Ishiko –err… Tsuwa-senpai." He corrected himself. But he saw the disbelief in both male's eyes.

"Listen, listen. I know I haven't done much of a good job lately but that brother of hers plans to use the blue one's-" He glanced over at Kisame merely glared at the name. "Yeah that one, his girlfriend as some sort of…" He struggled for the right word.

"Insurance or medicine." The purple eyes switched over to Kakuzu.

"You and I both know those kids will kill her as they're born." He yelped again as he dodged another potentially fatal blow from Kakuzu's tendrils.

"But-!! But!!" He held out his forefinger as some sort of halting device for Kakuzu's attacks, and it seemingly worked much to Kisame's surprise.

"She does have another solution. One that that idiot Keisuke overlooked. He doesn't need Dariru at all." Kisame's interests perked and he had to voice out. The safety of Dariru mattered above all.

"What does he need her at all? Medicine? Dariru isn't a medic Nin." Kisame objected to the boy's theories. A look of dread flashed over the brunette's face and his arms dropped to his side.

"Keisuke doesn't have any concern for anybody's life except his own and Ishiko's. From my reports, he wants to use Dariru's life to bring back Ishiko once she dies." The boy admitted pitifully. Kisame stood silent for a second, taking in the news. That was what the bastard meant. It was a threat to Dariru's life. Rage filled Kisame again and he shot up, grabbing Kakuzu's collar with his free arm.

"You asshole! This is your entire fault! If you hadn't knocked up the fucking spy Dariru wouldn't have to be used as a sacrifice to save her ass!!" Kisame screamed and his insults to Ishiko set Kakuzu off and he swatted Kisame off like a fly.

"What the fuck did you just say about Ishiko?" Kakuzu questions lowly, his tendrils grabbing Kisame's arm and tugging on it, making the blue man cry out in shock and pain but the boy seemed to have just as much of a hatred for violence as Ishiko.

"Hey!! But wait! Look-!! This was all supposed to work out this way; it called Keisuke out of hiding!" The boy ended up being grabbed by Kakuzu and the boy struggled for breathe in the man's grip.

"And what are you? Some sort of fucking prophet?" He hissed.

"Yes I am thank you very much!!"

---

"I used to use this jutsu with Hidan-sama when I was still his subordinate; it's a total mental jutsu so it's easier to be discreet about it." Ishiko explained and Dariru nodded while watching Ishiko make the hand signs and followed suit.

"Naishoubanashi-Tori no jutsu (Whispering Bird Technique)." Ishiko whispered to her and Dariru repeated after her.

"Try and communicate with Kisame, it's the same concept as the searchlight. I better get back before Onii-sama wakes up." Dariru nodded in understanding and Ishiko left first but glanced back, despite her burning heart.

"Good luck Dariru-chan." Dariru stayed in the bathroom until she had gotten the hand signs right and the pronunciation right; it was also her way of not being too close to leaving time with Ishiko. If Itachi had been watching them just now, or even Keisuke, it'd seem suspicious if both girls left the bathroom at the same time. But if they left at different times, then it'd be hard to think anything bad was going on. Before she left, the girl made a quick check on her chakra supply, wondering if she could perform the technique now. However, there was quite a low flow of chakra through her body from the searchlight technique she had performed just hours ago. If just looking for Kisame drained this much from her, then she was going to need all of her chakra just to communicate with him.

The girl stood up and grumbled; she'd be an impatient one tomorrow that's for sure. She would also have to try not to get into any fights with Keisuke or Itachi. _That's easier said than done,_ she muttered to herself before walking silently out of the bathroom. _Now…where was my room again?_

It took her a long time to find the room with the lion statues again. In fact, she wasn't sure she could go back to sleep since all that walking forced her senses to wake up. But she had to sleep to regain her chakra in order to communicate with Kisame. A small smile tugged at her mouth at the thought of hearing his voice again. Good lord, she hadn't even been separated from him for twenty-four hours and already she was missing him. But he was on his way; just a few more days and he'd be here, taking her back home.

---

The moment Ishiko climbed back into bed, her brother shifted. At first she thought he was going to roll over to his other side, but instead he straddled her hips and looked down at her. She opened her eyes in shock and fear. How long had he been awake?

"O-Onii-koi?" she mumbled out, trying to keep the panic hidden. "I-I'm sorry I woke you." She added quickly, hoping it was just her getting into bed that woke him up instead of her prolonged absence.

She couldn't see him, but from the lightness of his voice, she could tell he was smiling. "It's alright Ishi-koi. But were did you go? You've been gone for a long time…" Her heart pounded with panic instead of lust at his words. How could she have been so stupid to see he wasn't asleep!? Then again, she had done the same with him, except she didn't confront him about it. They really were siblings…

"I had to go to the bathroom," she said. His hot breath blew against the bottom of her earlobe, making her shudder.

"Why not just use the one that's in this room?" he whispered before placing a kiss on her neck.

"I-I wanted to see the rest of the temple again," she lied, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch it. "It's been so long since I saw it last. And I wanted to look at it again." He smirked and got off of her, lying down next to her and cuddled up close.

"It's alright Ishi-koi. I just wanted to make sure you were safe." His breathing became slow and steady, indicating that he fallen asleep. Ishiko let out a quiet, shaky breath before closing her eyes. She'd have to be more careful next time she tried to sneak out. She just hoped Dariru was able to contact Kisame.

---

Morning came, and Dariru was glad no one came in to wake her up. She was glad she slept in, especially since it had pissed Itachi off judging by the constant knocking he was making on the door. For a couple of minutes she ignored it, hoping he'd give up and walk away and if he didn't then it would just annoy him even more that she was still "asleep". Either way, it was a win-win situation for her.

"Dariru-san," he called from the door, "It's time to get out of bed." She glared at the door before standing up slowly; she was even slower in making her way to the door and made sure her footsteps were loud enough for Itachi to hear on the other side. Sure she was acting like a bitch, but the man had betrayed her lover and took her away from the blue man. In her mind, the Uchiha deserved it.

She opened the door just enough to see onyx eyes glaring down at her in annoyance. His face amused her and she didn't even pretend to be tired anymore. "Yes, Itachi-san?"

His eye twitched but he managed to speak in that plain voice of his. "Ishiko-san would like to have your company."

An uneasy tension went through Dariru. "Will her brother be there?"

"Yes."

---

Ishiko couldn't help but notice the small bite mark on Keisuke's lip. She was certain he didn't have that when she first saw him again, or when they bathed together. She probably didn't see it very clearly when he returned to bed since it was so dark. But the storm had passed and everything shone in the sunlight just like she remembered it.

The Ishibi Temple had been built long ago, with the finest materials money could buy. The wood was made from cherry trees and the surrounded frames of the hallways had printed paper with cherry designs and dragons. The golden lion statues held paper lanterns with bird designs as well as the insignia for the Tsuwa clan, with was simply kanji for earth. It was almost palace-like. The floors were marble and so clean she could see her reflection.

Apparently they still had servants. Clay figures brought to life by Keisuke out of the emergency scroll. Each one didn't even have a face, but they wore a servant uniform and there were many of them. She and Keisuke sat at the breakfast table –oddly enough there were different tables for different meals- as each one of the servants worked around them, and one even fanned her with a huge beautiful peacock feathered fan.

"Comfortable, Ishi-koi? What tea do you prefer? They know how to cook." Really, Ishiko didn't feel like eating at all. Everything looked great, but the smells were nauseating.

"I'm fine." Ishiko mumbled out and held her bulging stomach; Keisuke frowned but said nothing about because even he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He called over a servant and whispered something, even Ishiko couldn't hear it but she didn't want to focus any chakra so close to him, he may suspect something. The servant nodded its faceless head and walked away; its steps so coordinated it looked like it may belong to some sort of marching band.

"I called Itachi-san to retrieve Dariru-san. I figured you would want her to join us." Keisuke spoke, glancing at her for some sort of approval. Ishiko smiled at him, nodding in thanks.

"Thank you, I would." Ishiko said back and Keisuke took a bite out of his eggs benedict, his actions graceful and fluid just like he had been taught as a child.

"You know, if Father hadn't died we would be living like this everyday." Ishiko looked at him curiously. She never knew their Father, he had always been away for meetings and missions and she was still very young when he had died.

"What do you mean?" Keisuke sighed and set his forkful of eggs down.

"Our Father had been very kind in his years, he preferred to live like the common people do, and even married one, and once he died Grandfather respected his wishes and wavered any royal specialty treatment. All we were left with was our blood." Keisuke explained; a look of longing in his eyes. Ishiko could have respected that much of him. After all even though she didn't miss their Father one bit, Keisuke might have. He was maybe ten or eleven when the great Takari Tsuwa was killed.

---

"So you're some sort of prophet?" Kakuzu mumbled, not quite believing the boy but Kisame had urged him to. Of course, the blue man would take any chance if it means possibly finding Dariru and even Ishiko faster, even if Kakuzu didn't trust the so called prophet.

"Yes!" The man looked back from climbing a boulder. He had so far led them in the beginnings of the Stone Mountain Range, the natural barrier between Earth countries and five other small countries. Kakuzu pulled his foot from the mud, still keeping an emerald eye on the boy who hopped around like some sort of bug. Kisame staggered behind both of them, trying to do his best in keeping up and even resorted to using Samehada as a walking stick, dirtying the bandages on it with mud and small rocks.

"And how exactly do you plan to help us? Aren't prophets supposed to stay out of it?" Kakuzu questioned, trying to find something to keep his mind of the frustrating stickiness of the mud that was starting to dry. He didn't have time to get angry when they had no idea how much time they had. The man looked back, his grinning face turning into a frown and he scratched his head, glancing up at the sky.

"Well, I'm the only one who can take Keisuke on in a for sure one on one fight. I was personally selected by the Tsuchikage for that exact purpose. But I had a dream that I was supposed to help you, so I am." He answered nervously. Kisame grunted out, "Did you have a dream of telling us your name?" he pointed out and the boy laughed.

"It's Tadashi."

---

Dariru followed Itachi into the breakfast room, seeing Ishiko dressed in a fine-silk kimono jacket decorated with koi fish and dragonflies. Though she didn't look content and Dariru figured either it was because Dariru didn't cook a special meal for her, or she was going to puke. Her eyes flickered over to Keisuke who matched his sister and his hair tied back as usual. But his lip…

"Ah! Good Morning Dariru-san, come, sit down." Keisuke gestured down at the seating cushion next to Ishiko –she was thankful he didn't motion to the one next to him- and Ishiko bounced in her seat with excitement. Keisuke merely smiled at her joy before taking a sip of his tea.

"You can go Itachi-san; run another wave over the perimeter. I feel the jutsu may wear off." Keisuke commanded and Itachi merely nodded, stalking off into the only shadows of the temple and Dariru walked over next to Ishiko. Her eyes looked around, seeing the outside –there was a fish pond outside- and watching faceless figures with servant uniforms –even the uniforms were laced with gold and red thread and on the back was kanji for 'Earth' threaded with a dark brown silk. She felt some breeze on her face and turned to see one of the human-like forms fanning her with a feathered fan.

Was this how royalty lived?

"So what do you feel like Dariru-san? These servants know how to cook." Keisuke said and Dariru turned to Ishiko.

"Since when do you guys have servants?" she asked and Ishiko smiled weakly through her nausea.

"They're summoned artificial servants. 'Always loyal to the royal blood'. I'm not quite sure but in case of emergency the royal family moves here and uses these servants which are kept in scrolls. They're only clay." Ishiko looked over to Keisuke who nodded and ate more.

"But we didn't get this as kids I assure you. After… my Dad died my Grandfather wavered any royal treatment. Whoever knocked him out of power might be using the royal treatment though." Keisuke scoffed in agreement. Dariru nodded in interest and looked at one of the servants. Might as well use them if they were there.

"Three eggs, two bacon, half a potato's worth of hash browns –extra crispy- and one glass of orange juice." She ordered, the faceless servant nodded and turned on its heels, marching away. Dariru grinned to herself. She liked the royal life so far, but it just seemed so dangerous. Ishiko's Grandfather was killed so some other good could take over and be treated royally.

"Fun isn't it?" Ishiko smiled to her and Dariru laughed with her. But her attention returned to Keisuke's lip… panic rising in her heart.

_Substitute… _

"Where did you get that cut on your lip?" Dariru asked, her eyes narrowing on the man but he only glanced up at her and smiled, pointing at his lip.

"I seemed to be having a nightmare last night. Seems I bit my lip and drew blood. Surprised myself this morning and I actually thought Ishi-chan did it to me." He teased and chuckled lightly. Ishiko blushed in return.

"I would never do such a thing Onii-sama!" She cried back and Keisuke only smiled.

"Of course you wouldn't, you're not a biter are you?"

* * *

Bullshit! Oh... Sorry...


	42. Chapter 42

T.a.T.u just came out with a new album!! It's called "Waste Management"!! Check it out, I love it and I think you guys will too!!

* * *

Chapter 42

Throughout the day, Dariru couldn't help but stare at the cut on the man's lip. It sent paranoid and picked thoughts through her body, and she had to refrain herself from shaking too much. She remembered biting Kisame's lip in that strange dream of hers. It was hard to believe that it was just a mere coincidence, but then again, strange things have been known to happen. And surely if Keisuke were going to try to have sneak fuck, she would have known about it. Right?

"Onii-sama?" Ishiko looked at her older brother with bright eyes. After breakfast the three of them had walked throughout the entire temple. At every corner there seemed to be a clay servant watching their every move. It had begun to creep Dariru out, mostly because of the fact that they had no face. "Can Dariru-chan and me go for a walk outside?" Dariru paused and stared at her friend for a split second in hopeful shock. Sure she was probably asking just so they could get away from Keisuke, but they would be going _outside_! Of course, the moment the girl realized she was getting excited over going outside she felt like a dog and tried to push the excitement aside.

"Of course, Ishi-koi," Keisuke smiled at his little sister. The short-haired girl tried not to look too disgusted at the honorific he used. "Just don't too far from the temple, okay?" Immediately, Ishiko grabbed her friend's wrist and pulled her away from the man. They stopped in front of two giant doors guarded by two clay servants, who opened the door the moment Ishiko told them to.

A bright light blinded the short-haired girl for a split second before her eyes became adjusted. There was a stone path that lead to a long set of stone stairs. A small forest bordered both sides of the staircase and temple, the leaves changing from green to orange, yellow and red. The shining sun even made some of the leaves appear to be on fire. She looked up and saw clouds float by lazily across the clear blue sky as if there hadn't been a massive storm last night. A cool autumn breeze blew over the temple and girls, making Dariru shiver in delight. For a moment she had forgotten everything that had happened last night and the fact that she was separated from the love of her life. This was the most beautiful thing she had seen in a long time.

Ishiko just stared at her friend with a smile on her face, letting the girl take in the sight peacefully. She was reacting differently to the outside world than she had when they took refuge in that tiny village. Perhaps it was because this wasn't a town full of people and busy sights and sounds. In this place, there was the outside, the temple, and the very few who lived in it. As she stared at Dariru, she noticed how quickly her friend had become so happy being outside. A small smirk came over Ishiko, remembering the color of the girl's chakra. _I wonder how easier earth-based jutsus would be for her rather than water-based?_

Dariru took off her sandals and walked slowly to Ishiko, taking in the feeling the rock felt against her skin. She would make it a habit to be barefoot outside from now on; especially since it was such a rare thing for her to experience. When she got to her pregnant friend, she was so excited to feel the blades of grass tickle and itch against the bottoms of her feet. She felt like a child again.

"Come on," Ishiko held out her hand, "we can talk when we get deeper into the woods." At the sound of her voice, Dariru tried to act serious even when she accepted the girl's hand was lead through the cluster of trees. But she couldn't help but grin excitedly at the beams of light that broke through the orange and green canopy of leaves.

They stopped by a large oak tree, which Dariru immediately placed her hands on and began to chip little pieces of bark from the plant. Ishiko looked at their surroundings cautiously, making sure Itachi or one of the clay servants hadn't followed them. "Dariru-chan?" the girl stopped picking at the tree at the sound of her name. "Were you able to contact Kisame-san last night?"

The girl bit her lip and looked away. "No. I didn't have enough chakra for it. But I'm going to try tonight." Disappointment overtook the pregnant girl, but she couldn't blame her friend. If there was a lack of chakra, there was nothing either of them could do but wait.

Without warning, a wave of nausea surged through the girl and she leaned against a tree before vomiting her small breakfast on the grass. Dariru gasped took a step back in shock before going to her side, "Ishiko-chan! Is it the babies?" All the girl could do was nod before wrenching and heaving out another mouthful of bile. At first she thought that would be the end of it, but the sickening familiar tensing of muscles overcame her body. The episodes were coming back. But why?

"O-opium," Ishiko managed to say, her hands clinging onto the edges of Dariru's clothes. "I need…opium."

At the sound of her words, the short-haired girl cursed to herself. It was the opium Doctor Keirei had given her that stopped her episodes and made carrying the babies less of a hassle. But now that they weren't at the base, she hadn't gotten her proper treatment. Dariru wrapped her friend's arm over her shoulder and she held tightly onto her waist before leading her towards the temple. "Don't worry Ishiko-chan. We'll get you what you need."

She never thought she'd ever say this, let alone think it, but the girl looked at her suffering friend and smiled. "K-Keisuke…_san_…will know what to do." When the sentence came out, Dariru felt like she was going to start throwing up with Ishiko. But she ignored the vile taste in her mouth and moving slowly forward. Ishiko winced visibly, grabbing tighter onto Dariru.

"It'll be okay." She assured and looked towards the temple. But her eyes widened in shock, seeing who was already waiting for them by the large doors, and two clay servants stood besides him.

"Are we discovered?" Dariru whispered, keeping her eyes focused on him knowing enough it'll be obvious she's keeping a secret with Ishiko if she turned her head to whisper. Apparently Ishiko did the same, keeping her drowsy and pained eyes low.

"No. He would have already locked me away if that were the case." Ishiko mumbled but grunted as her legs gave out, and Dariru gasped, trying to support her friend's weight –which was surprisingly heavy, Kakuzu made lifting her look like nothing- and Keisuke's face tightened. He only turned his head forward and the two servants marched towards the two girls, practically shoving Dariru out of the way and starting carrying Ishiko, being careful of her stomach.

"Ishiko-chan!" Dariru cried out, grabbing one of the servant's sleeves but it moved too quickly for her to take a firm hold. She wasn't about to let her friend ripped out of her grip like this, she could save Ishiko! But the faceless minions rushed Ishiko away like she was in labor already, and Ishiko was in too much pain to glance back at Dariru. The servants carried the pregnant girl into the temple and Dariru followed closely.

"That's as far as you'll go." Keisuke interjected, blocking her with his arm, but Dariru was just about fed up with his attitude. He looked down at her, with a pained and frowning face.

"Please do not cause any problems right now." He seemingly pleaded but Dariru didn't listen. He tried to throw a punch but he merely grabbed her fist, already turning.

"I do not wish to put up with you at this moment, go bother Itachi-san." Dariru lifted her leg to kick him but he threw away her fist so hard it knocked her off balance and before she could land another hit –or at least try to- he was already gone.

---

"So… Tadashi… how can Dariru be saved?" Kisame asked, edging himself over a boulder. Tadashi raised his eyebrows, not bothering to pull his sleeve back up and was rubbing his burn.

"Keisuke thinks that Ishiko has to be… completely…" He struggled for the right word, or he simply didn't want to use the word 'dead' for his master since birth.

"Dead," Kakuzu muttered with a pained expression on his own face, admitting his fiancé's fate.

"Yes," Keisuke looked at him thankfully for saying the word he couldn't bring himself to say, "For her to be saved. It's possibly to split souls, and if he works fast enough, when Ishiko is on her…" He winced.

"Deathbed, its very possible to only use a portion of Dariru's life to save Ishiko. But in case you haven't noticed… Keisuke hasn't been the same." Tadashi admitted and hopped onto a higher boulder, watching the two men struggle behind him. But Kakuzu scoffed.

"He's always been that heartless obsessive-compulsive bastard I ever made the mistake of loving." Kakuzu growled. Tadashi rolled his eyes.

"He may not want to admit it, but Keisuke was really the one who cracked under his Mother's pressure."

---

Dariru kicked at a stray pebble, listening as it skipped across the stone staircase. Apparently, when Keisuke didn't want her to cause any problems, he meant locking her out of the temple. She had tried to open the giant doors and had even knocked politely a few times too, but it wouldn't open. It was mostly the concern for her friend that was winding the girl up so tight, but after pacing angrily in front of the giant doors like a caged animal the girl finally decided to do something productive. As far as she could tell there were no servants outside and Itachi was still checking the perimeter as far as she knew. Though she was pretty sure that task would take a long time, Dariru didn't take any chances and made her way back into the forest.

She didn't stop until she could only see the tip of the temple over the treetops. The only sounds surrounding her were the rustling leaves and the occasional bird-song. Aside from herself, there was no other human activity going on in the forest. Dariru sat down with her back against a tree and began to focus. Again, she went through the same procedure as last night, making sure she got the jutsu name and hand signs right before concentrating on the chakra. Since this was a communication jutsu, Dariru focused most of her chakra to her mind and throat before focusing on Kisame. At first she focused on the memories, but then her mind wandered to the chakra he had emitted last night. She remembered all the pressure the sheer power of it emitted and at how light of a blue it was. It was perfect.

Without another moment's hesitation, Dariru performed the hand signs and muttered, "Naishoubanashi-Tori no jutsu." At first she thought it didn't work, but she could feel her chakra being exhausted and could faintly feel the familiar pressure of Kisame's chakra. So she spoke out, "Kisame?"

Nothing.

She tried again, "Kisame, can you hear me?"

---

"Good!" Tadashi breathed to the two men who were still a few feet behind him. "We're almost to the top! We've just got a few more yards to go!"

Kisame scoffed, his grip tightening on Samehada's handle as he used it to pull himself over a cluster of rocks. His arm was making travel difficult for his entire body. Normally this challenge wouldn't be a problem, in fact he would probably racing with that Tadashi kid to the top, but now his entire body was exhausted and aching from the massive strain he was putting on his freshly injured shoulder. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and were beginning to soak into his shirt and headband. Had it not be Dariru he was going after he would have abandoned the mission. But he had to get to her before Ishiko's psychotic brother sacrificed her life for no reason.

"_Kisame?"_ Dariru's voice rang inside of his head. The blue man paused for a moment and shook his head. It was probably just the pain beginning to fuck with his head. But just as he resumed the exhausting climb, her voice came back, _"Kisame, can you hear me?"_

He looked at Kakuzu and Tadashi for any signs of confusion. They didn't show any, but he still breathed out to them, "Do you guys hear that?"

Kakuzu didn't even look back when he grunted, "Hear what?"

"_Oh thank god it's working,"_ His lover breathed in relief. Kisame looked at his surroundings; he was hearing her as if she were right next to him. But he saw no sign of the short-haired girl.

He chuckled and shook his head, "Great. Just great. First my shoulder pops out and now I'm hearing things." The moment the words came out, the girl became hysterical.

"_WHAT!? You broke your shoulder!? Are you okay? Did you get it fixed?"_

At first he ignored the voice, convinced it was all in his head. "This isn't happening," he grumbled as he tried to keep up with Kakuzu and Tadashi. "I'm just hearing things..... I'm in a lot of pain, I'm worried…this is just the product of it all."

"_Kisame, listen to me," _the girl pressed on, _"you're not hearing things. It's me, Dariru. I'm using a jutsu Ishiko-chan taught me to communicate with you.."_

"Hey!" He hollered at the two men ahead of him. Kakuzu didn't stop, but Tadashi did and looked at the blue man with a curious look. "Does Ishiko-san know a jutsu that allows her to communicate with other people from a far distance?"

The boy nodded eagerly and began to make his way down the rocky slope. "Yes! Yes, she does! I-is she talking with you right now?"

"No," Kisame sat on a rock, taking advantage of the small break. "But Dariru is."

"Where are they? Does she know?" Kakuzu, who had stopped climbing, asked eagerly.

"Dariru?" Kisame hoped the girl could still hear him, "can you still hear me?"

"_Yeah. I can still hear you."_

"Do you know where Keisuke took you?"

There was a small pause before she spoke, _"We're at the temple that Ishiko-chan was named after."_

He looked at Tadashi and repeated the girl's words. An excited smile overtook the boy's face and he shook his fist happily. "Excellent! We're on the right track then! Ask her if Ishiko-senpai is alright."

Kisame rolled his eyes before asking, "Are you okay Dariru?" The man was given glares from both men, but he just waved them away. This was his woman he was talking to, and to him she was top priority.....

"_I'm fine so far. But Ishiko-chan had an attack just recently.." _When Kisame relayed the news, Kakuzu's face stiffened.

"Is she alright?" the tan man asked and Kisame repeated the question.

"_I don't know. Keisuke had these clay servants carry her into the temple and he locked me out."_

Hope boiled inside of Kisame's gut. "He locked you out?"

"_Yes."_

"Is Itachi anywhere nearby?" This was too perfect. Keisuke had locked Dariru out, which gave her a chance to escape! When she had told him "no", the blue man licked his dry lips anxiously. "Listen to me very closely Dariru. You need to run. Right now."

Tadashi smacked his bad arm, making the blue man howl in pain, but the boy ignored the pain he had inflicted.

"What do you think you're doing!?" the boy hissed.

"I'm trying to save her!" Kisame growled through clenched teeth.

"_Kisame? What's going on?"_

"If she runs, she's signing her own death!" Tadashi tried to reason with the blue man, but he acted like the boy wasn't even there.

"Look. Keisuke is going to use you as a sacrifice to save Ishiko's life."

"_What? How do you know that?"_

"Never mind how I know. But Ishiko-san is not going to live through her labor. You need to get out of there _right now_!"

"You idiot!" Kakuzu snarled as he began to slowly climb down. "Where's she going to run to? She doesn't know where we are! She probably doesn't even know which country she's in right now! Like Tadashi-san said, if she runs she'll die! And I highly doubt Ishiko's pleading will save her either!"

Kisame felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He knew Dariru was a good runner and could take care of herself when it came down to it. If she could escape, she should take the opportunity instead of waiting to be killed off like some cow! At least she'd have a better chance of survival in the woods than in that damned temple.

"_No." _She stated firmly. _"I can't leave Ishiko-chan. Not now."_

Hope fell like a rock in a bottomless pit. The blue man sighed in disappointment, running his good hand through his damp hair. Why did she have to be so attached to Ishiko? "Can you promise me something then?"

"_I'll try....."_

"If we don't get there by the time Ishiko-san is close to giving birth, then will you run?"

"_If the opportunity presents itself." _

He smirked a little before eyeing the two men standing. "Kakuzu's with me. And so's this guy named Tadashi. Ishiko should know him."

He could hear her smile when she spoke. _"She'll be happy to hear that. Kisame?"_

"Yeah?"

"_I love you."_

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "I love you too."

"_Don't go breaking anything else, you hear? Otherwise, you're not getting any until you're completely healed!"_

A small laugh came from the man even though it hurt his ribs do that. "What about fracturing? Am I allowed to fracture something?"

"_I'd rather you not." _There was a small gasp from her and Kisame tensed. Had she been found out? _"I've…I've gotta stop this jutsu," _she breathed, sounding exhausted, _"I'm almost out of energy."_

"Alright. I'll see you soon," he promised before hearing nothing from her. He stood up slowly and looked at his two companions. "Let's keep going. I'll tell you what she said on the way."

* * *

And he never did....


	43. Chapter 43

Reviews are much appareciated! I really like reading them. But right now I'm trying to think of what other bullcrap can I put on here. But anyways, this chapter is rather short due to the fact Blood Thirsty Me is braindead.

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Chapter Forty-Three

Keisuke's jaw tightened and he held Ishiko's hand close to his lips. Kissing the backside of her hand every once in a while. Her shallow breathing worried him, and he set her in the infirmary bed, the servants fanning her and one even tried offering her water but she swatted it to the floor.

"What is wrong Ishiko?" He asked seriously, but her eyes closed with pain. She had never been good with pain; she was a spy, a coward. She had no real experience with pain except when she first started gaining symptoms of the disease.

"Are you in pain?" He asked her cautious, watching as she nodded her sweating head, grinding her teeth to silence herself. Keisuke nodded, dropping his eyes to the sheets and gripped her hand and kissed it before standing up.

"Get the morphine…"

---

"Something tells me we have to hurry…" Tadashi mumbled, climbing a good distance in front of the two men. You'd think two ninja would be in such good shape, but they did just go through an entire mudslide and lived. Kisame growled out, pushing himself to go another step.

"For Ishiko or Dariru's sake?" He rasped out and Tadashi frowned at him for thinking the amethyst-eyed man would be biased on his concerns. Even Kakuzu stopped for a second to glare at him before continuing. Ishiko was in her second trimester, and about to go into her third. He was not going to miss another moment of her pregnancy. His children might actually start liking the sound of Keisuke's voice rather than his…

"Both. I care for Dariru-san as well; I believe Tsuwa-senpai may make her the godmother of the twins." Tadashi explained and Kisame stopped for a quick second. But then Tadashi froze, placing a hand over his mouth and glancing back.

"Forget I ever said that." Kakuzu grumbled in response.

"It's kind of hard to do that," Kakuzu said and sighed aloud, begging to grow tired of all these damn boulders and rocks. How could Ishiko have dealt with so much stone? Even though he hated Takigakure, he would have much rather see waterfalls all the time than rocks and stone. It all just seemed so stagnant. But he guessed if Tadashi foresaw Ishiko deciding Dariru as the godmother of their children, then he at least has the right to choose the godfather. But that was a very hard decision considering all the people he knew were criminals…

"So you only care for my Dariru because she'll be a godmother?" Kisame accused but Tadashi seemed to catch on to the tone.

"Oh no Kisame-san! Dariru plays a vital role in the fate of the Akatsuki! Of course... I still care deeply for Tsuwa-senpai; her name's burned on me you know." Tadashi, pointing to the burn mark on his arm he still hadn't bothered to cover up yet. Kisame only grunted in exhaustion but Tadashi smiled back, seemingly sincere with his unlike Keisuke. But how the boy had so much energy seemed to leave Kisame dumb-founded. It was lucky he was in such a good mood thanks to talking to Dariru again or he would have ripped off Tadashi's smile a long time ago with his Samehada.

"Well then, it looks like it was a good thing you picked up that stray after all Kisame." Kakuzu grumbled sarcastically, getting sick and tired of the constant chit-chat. They should be focusing more on getting to the temple first before discussing future situations. He just couldn't wait to strangle Keisuke with his bare hands and tell him that it wasn't Ishiko's heart that was in her chest. The imagined look of the boy's terrified realization made Kakuzu chuckle to himself.

Tadashi hopped onto what looked like a Cliffside and stood of straight. The boy punched at the happily and shouted, "YES! We're at the top!" The sudden news made both men climb just a little faster, but when the tan man joined Tadashi at the top, he couldn't help but sigh in relief. Just a few yards ahead were a large cluster of trees that seemed to have grown uphill. It'd be a little difficult going uphill, but at least they weren't climbing over a bunch of fucking rocks anymore.

It wasn't until Kisame had finally joined them did Kakuzu ask, "How much farther from here?"

The rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "Well…if we take shelter for the night to let you two rest up…then it may take about a week."

"Then we're not stopping," Kisame grumbled, using Samehada to prop himself up. "We have to get there as fast as we can."

"Right," Tadashi held out a finger, "but if we don't stop at least once, then you two are just gonna be more of a burden than anything else. After that fall, the thing you guys need right now is some rest."

Kakuzu grumbled, "You sound like a woman." Though, he had to agree with the boy. Kakuzu would probably be fine with his lack of sleep and injuries; but Kisame may not. And though he wouldn't hesitate in leaving the blue man behind, they would need him if they got into a fight. Broken shoulder or not, the man could still wield Samehada with one hand and still be a force to be reckoned with. And Keisuke wasn't an easy opponent to beat.

Tadashi shrugged at the comment and replied, "Well, maybe it's because I'm bi." Both men seemingly froze at the realization and eyed the boy suspiciously. "C'mon, let's keep going," the boy urged before walking towards the forest.

Kisame looked at Kakuzu and mumbled, "If he tries anything to me while we're asleep, I'm blaming you."

A small huff came from the tan man, "The only one who'd ever try to do anything to you in your sleep is weeks away."

--

Dariru leaned her head against the tree she was against and took in heavy breaths. That jutsu had lasted longer than the last one, but it still took up a lot of chakra. Either Ishiko had a lot of chakra or Dariru was beginning to lose her touch. She stood up on shaking legs, bracing herself against the rough tree and just stood there for a while. If she could just pass out on the grass that would be great, but she couldn't. Not when she was so far from the temple; it would look suspicious that she still wasn't trying to open the doors.

A hand gripped her shoulder and she gasped in fear and shock. Was it Keisuke? Had she been found out before help could even arrive? But the plain voice of Itachi sent a small wave of relief through the girl. "You look exhausted Dariru-san."

She nodded slowly, "Yes. I just got done running. A lot of running."

He grunted and stepped in front of her with the emotionless face. "Do you need help?"

This was weird, even for Itachi. The girl took a step away from the Uchiha. "Why're you being so nice all of a sudden?"

Immediately he cut down to the chase and murmured in a low voice. "I heard you talking to Kisame-san." A wave of terror coursed through her body and all of her limbs started shaking. She had doomed herself, Ishiko and probably even Kisame. Why didn't she wait until nightfall? How could she have been so stupid!? The man grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it to bring her back out of her terrified mind. "I'm not going to tell Keisuke-sama."

She held her head up high, "Why not? Aren't you supposed to tell him everything that happens?"

"Not if he doesn't _ask_ first."

A relieved smile threatened to come to her face, but she held it back. She was out of danger for now. But the moment Keisuke asked anything about her behavior, she was dead. Perhaps she should run like Kisame had told her to? She shook her head at the thought. No, not when Ishiko was still with the twins.

"Don't worry," Itachi mumbled before helping her walk back to the temple, "Keisuke-sama won't kill you if he finds out."

Dariru scoffed, a little reluctant at accepting his help at first. But when she no longer had the tree to help support her shaking body, she decided that a nice Itachi was a good thing. "Yeah right. What's he going to do instead? Lock me up and torture me?"

Itachi was silent and the girl took it as a "yes".

Dariru turned back in the general direction of the temple, pacing her hands on her waist.

"I guess I can't ask you to help me get Ishiko safe." She assumed. Since Keisuke had such a tight hold of Itachi, there was no way the Uchiha would betray him in any way. Even if it were for Ishiko and her unborn children's sake. Itachi simply shook his head and his red eyes shifted, "No. But I suggest sticking close to her; she may be your only shield against Keisuke-sama's wrath."

---

"It's going to be alright, Ishi-koi." Keisuke promised, petting his sister's hand and glancing over at one of the servants and waved them forward. The faithful servant bowed, holding a couple of syringes full of morphine. She tilted her head and hissed silently in pain, not minding at all of what Keisuke was saying.

"Dariru-chan… I… have to speak…" She said weakly. Keisuke nodded, obeying her wishes and glancing over to another servant.

"Let Dariru-san in, my beloved sister must have a word with her." Keisuke ordered and the servant bowed before walking away, its steps so precise it could have been in a marching band.

"Ishi-chan, how do you feel?" Keisuke asked and Ishiko turned to look at him, a tired smile gracing her chapped lips.

"I'm fine Onii-koi; they're just acting up is all." Ishiko said softly, describing the pain she felt in her abdomen. Chocolate eyes looked down at her bulging stomach.

"They?"

"Twins." Ishiko smiled back weakly and his eyes slowly settled and is hands moved over, rubbing over the baby bump. The spy felt her heart flutter slightly but a cold shiver ran through her spine.

"That… That's very fortunate for you, Ishi-chan." He smiled but Ishiko saw something wrong with it right away. His smile was forced this time, and there was an edge to the corner of his eyes. He smiled the same way when she woke up in the middle of the night once and walked in on him packing to run away.

"_Onii-san?" Ishiko asked, peeking into the small room of her brother. Keisuke stopped mid-action, but then turned; a shirt in hand. _

"_Ishiko-chan, what are you doing up so late?" He questioned. But the small girl just stepped into his room and shut the door behind her, careful not to wake their sleeping Mother. _

"_Onii-san," Her eyes scanned over the bags, half-full of clothes and Keisuke kneeled down in front of her, grabbing her hands in his own. _

"_Listen, Ishiko-chan, I'm going to be away for a while, but tell Mother I'm on a mission." Ishiko grabbed onto his scarf. _

"_But… Onii-san, if you're not going away for a mission, then why are you going away?" Keisuke smiled and kissed the top of her head, standing up and turning to pack again. _

"_You've always been a smart one, Ishiko-chan." Keisuke turned and smiled at her again._

He was gone for three months that time, and when he came back, he had a noticeable scar on his back.

---

"I have to sleep too; I can't make predictions unless I do." Tadashi piped, looking back at the two older men and his eyes particularly rested on Kakuzu.

"How old are you anyway?" Kakuzu grumbled at the question but Kisame guffawed, holding his gut and stopping to laugh fully. Tadashi lifted his eyebrow, not understanding why the matter was so funny.

"I'm 93." He answered and Kisame laughed louder while Tadashi placed a hand over his mouth, much like most women did. But Kakuzu glared at the two men, tempering him. He needed them to save Ishiko. He needed them to save Ishiko. Well… Tadashi said he _was _the only one who can truly take on Keisuke…

"And you impregnated my Tsuwa-senpai?" Kakuzu only grumbled. He was used to people judging, after all his fiancé and mother of his children was only eighteen now. Tadashi hummed to himself and looked up.

"I suppose she was always was interested in older men, but I didn't think someone 75 years older than her would be the one…" Kisame only laughed harder but Kakuzu turned on him as well.

"Like your any better you pedophile. How old is Dariru?" Kisame stopped laughing immediately and glared.

"Seventeen. Hey, it's a 18-year difference, less than 75!" Kisame argued and Kakuzu scoffed. The former Takigakure ninja looked back, rolling his eyes at the man and started walking again.

"Hey at least Dariru isn't pregnant!"

* * *

I have 45 manga books right now, I think I deserve a nerd award.


	44. Chapter 44

I'm having real trouble with my skin lately, no matter how much I moisturize it whenever I put on foundation it looks flaky. I hate it. So in the end I don't wear any makeup becuase my skin is simply disapreeing with it. Ugh. Why can't I look like a movie star!?

* * *

Chapter 44

A servant walked up to Dariru and grabbed her arm before pulling her away from Itachi. The girl tried to resist at first, but for something made out of clay it had a tight firm grip. "God damn it, let me go!" she grumbled as her fingers tried to rip chunks of clay from the being's hand. The servant seemed unaffected by her attempts of escape and just kept pulling her along with it.

"It's alright Dariru-san," Itachi said after the struggling girl, "it's probably taking you to Ishiko-san." Dariru seemed to calm down at the possibility and stopped her useless struggles. However, the clay person didn't release her arm as it continued to lead her to what was apparently Ishiko's room.

The room was very large and looked very expensive. Though the girl would have liked to stare at the architecture, the servant tugged her along to the bed where Ishiko lay with Keisuke at her side, holding her hand as if supporting her through the pain. Dariru had to suppress the glare that her eyes wanted to shoot at the man. The servant released her arm and took a few steps back. Ishiko looked a little better, but she still appeared to be in pain. Whatever it was Keisuke gave her, it obviously wasn't as powerful as the opium Doctor Keirei normally gave her.

Keisuke turned to the servant and said, "Leave us." They all gave him a curt nod and marched out of the room. "My sister would like to speak with you, Dariru-san," the man smiled, his eyes never leaving the girl on the bed.

Ishiko looked at her brother; her movements slow as if she would fall asleep soon. "I would like to talk to her alone Onii-sama."

He seemed to tense at her words and Dariru could have sworn she saw him glare at her for a split second. "I'm sure whatever it is you have to tell her, it won't hurt if I hear it too."

"Please, Onii-koi?" Dariru tensed a little at the honorific Ishiko used for her own brother, but the name seemed to have softened the man. "It's…it's girl talk, Onii-koi. I'd feel more comfortable if just Dariru-chan heard it." The man licked his lips slowly in thought, his eyes never leaving Ishiko's pleading face. Finally he nodded and placed a quick peck on the girl's lips.

"Alright. But I'm afraid you'll only have ten minutes. I don't want you to get over-exert yourself anymore." Keisuke stood up and released his sister's hand before walking smoothly to the door. He paused and spoke to Dariru, "Don't stay if she falls asleep. I don't want you to bother her." And with that, he left the room.

Dariru went to Ishiko's side, sitting on the bed and spoke in a hushed tone, "What's wrong?"

"I'm afraid," she admitted. "What's going to happen to my babies? I just had an attack and I don't know how it'll affect them." The pregnant breathed heavily, trying to hold back the sobs that tightened her throat. Dariru pulled her into a comforting hug like a mother.

"Shhhh…it'll be okay Ishiko-chan," The short-haired girl cooed, petting her long hair comfortingly. "The twins will be fine. You wanna know something else?" Ishiko looked at her friend expectantly. "Kakuzu is on his way with Kisame. And so is a guy named Tadashi." Ishiko's eyes noticeably widened and she shot up, only to wince in pain.

"Tadashi-?!" She gasped out and she seemed to start coughing but Dariru shot up as well, concerned if Ishiko knew if he was an enemy or not.

"Is he someone dangerous?" Dariru asked urgently, wondering if her lover was currently with an enemy. But Ishiko quickly shook her head, covering her mouth like she was praying as tears ran down her cheeks. So he was not an enemy, but he had to be somebody important for Ishiko to be having such a reaction and the pregnant girl set a hand on her bulging stomach. But her eyes were still wide.

"I thought he had died three years ago…" She whispered, uncovering her mouth and looked at Dariru who only ran a hand through her short brown hair.

"Well did you think Keisuke was dead too?" She asked back, wondering why all these people who were supposedly dead to Ishiko were miraculously appearing again.

"Yes, but Onii-san had done this before. He knows a jutsu I guess." Ishiko shrugged, of course she could only assume. She and Keisuke were at least five years apart, and they received different training thanks to their Grandfather, the Tsuchikage. But she narrowed her eyes, wincing in pain from her stomach again but tried to ignore it.

"But Tadashi… as far as I knew he was an academy drop-out, and Keisuke killed him." She said but shook her head. It was impossible. Her eyes turned to Dariru's, and they both sighed in unison. This shinobi world was really not making any sense any more. Ishiko leaned back, folding her hands over her stomach and looked at the ceiling.

"Kakuzu and Kisame are coming?" She turned her head and Dariru nodded her head with a weak smile, then she decided to rest on the edge of the bed.. Ishiko didn't seem to mind in the slightest. But not that she really expected Ishiko of all people to be annoyed by her. She suddenly stood up, and before Dariru could tell her to lie back down since she was in pain she silenced her by covering her mouth. Ishiko obviously had a plan, and if Dariru knew Ishiko any, it was a sneaky one. Dariru couldn't remember a time in her life besides sneaking out of her village to explore the world for the living Seven Swordsmen members before she met Ishiko that she was so sneaky and mischievous. Sure she played pranks on adults like any other teenager when she was that age, but Ishiko was a real professional at the spy business. Ishiko turned and got a pen and seemingly golden edged paper from the ivory-plated nightstand next to her and brought it out, scribbling on it and looked over at the door before handing it to Dariru.

**If I become hopeless; abandon me, I'll make sure at least you get out. I can at least try and make sure you get out of here; I don't even believe myself that Keisuke has entirely good intentions for me. But I do not wish for you to be dragged into this, and I can defend myself against Keisuke.**

Dariru quickly scanned over the scribbled words and her eyes widened in horror at what she read. Was Ishiko giving up hope on herself? But taking one glance at the door, Ishiko grabbed the note back and crumbled it into her hands. Dariru could see the note seemingly turning to ashes. Ishiko opened her hand, blowing the ashes in the air where Dariru thought the ashes would land in her eyes, but instead, as Ishiko blew, the ashes turned into a wispy smoke.

---

_Someone was talking. Tadashi could hear the voice, but he couldn't quite make out the words. Two more voices joined in, both female, and he now recognized the first voice as a male. The male sounded sly and one of the female voices seemed nervous almost to the point of frightened. There was silence for a long time in the blackness, but when the second female screamed out in a desperate plea, Tadashi was able to recognize not only who it was, but what they were saying._

"_Keisuke don't!" Ishiko cried out and the blackness showed the blurred image of the girl's brother kicking a girl across the room. At first Tadashi thought it may have been Ishiko that had been kicked, but as the blurred image began to fade into black, he saw the assaulted girl had very short hair, almost boy-like._

_Darkness clouded his vision and all he could hear were Ishiko's desperate pleads, Keisuke's furious voice, and the grunts of the other being beaten. Suddenly, across the black showered a splatter of blood in front of Tadashi's face. He recoiled back, his breath catching in his throat. Keisuke's voice returned and the dreaming man could hear what he was saying._

"_Get out of my way," Keisuke growled at what Tadashi assumed was Ishiko. Blurred images of Ishiko standing between her brother and the now bleeding girl appeared. Ishiko's stomach was just starting to show a sign of her pregnancy and in her brother's hand was a knife._

_The pregnant girl shook her head and whispered, "No." Keisuke's chest began to heave with angry breaths, and suddenly he raised the knife with an angry roar just as the black shrouded the three from Tadashi's sight._

--

Tadashi bolted upright the moment he awoke from his premonition. Daybreak was just starting and the boy scrambled to his feet, gathering up his supplies as quickly as he could, not caring one bit at how loud he was being. The other two men were still asleep, but the young man quickly changed that by kicking at Kisame's sides hard enough to get their attention.

"Get up!" the boy commanded, not bothering to keep his voice low. "Get up, get up, get up!"

Kisame groaned and sat up slowly, wincing at the stiffness of his aching muscles and the pain in his shoulder. The man suppressed a yawn and watched as the young man decided to throw little pebbles at Kakuzu instead of risking the lose of his foot should he try to kick the old man. Kakuzu grumbled and caught the next pebble that Tadashi had thrown at him. The young man paused and backed away from the man as he sat up.

"Stop that," Kakuzu growled sleepily before throwing the pebble back at Tadashi, who jumped in the air as if thousands of volts of electricity just shot through him.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Kisame grumbled as he lifted Samehada with some difficulty.

Tadashi rolled his eyes at how slow and laid-back the men were being. "You idiots! They're both in danger! Bad danger! Keisuke might even kill one of them before his sister gives birth!" Immediately, Kisame and Kakuzu picked up the pace after exchanging similar frightened glances. They didn't waste any time in getting out side and following the rushing boy as best as they could.

"Tadashi!" Kakuzu breathed, trying to keep up with the running boy as they weaved through bushes and giant tree roots. He wasn't even sure if Kisame was close behind them at the rate this kid was going. "Tadashi, hold on! Are…are you saying that the twins are in danger!?"

The boy didn't even pause as he shook his head. "No. Dariru-san's _definitely _in danger. Ishiko-san might be too, but I don't know." Kakuzu paused and stiffened at the news. If Dariru was going to be in danger, then Ishiko was going to be in it too. Those two were like close sisters; one's trouble was the other's trouble. Hell, they hadn't even known each other for that long and already they acted like they were childhood friends.

Kisame caught up to Kakuzu and breathed out, "What's wrong."

Kakuzu didn't even look at the blue man when he spoke, "Dariru-san's going to be in trouble. And so is Ishiko." The blue man stiffened also at the words, but he growled and moved forward with a newfound energy. Kakuzu followed him to the waiting Tadashi. "Any idea when this'll happen?" The stitched man asked the impatient young boy, who just shook his head.

"No idea. Maybe soon since Ishiko's belly wasn't very large in the dream."

Kakuzu grumbled and pushed himself to go faster than he was going just moments ago. He couldn't let anything happen to Ishiko or their babies.

--

Keisuke hummed a little tune to himself as he stared outside at the orange leaves. It was a beautiful day, but he didn't feel like going outside; not when his beloved sister was inside the temple, trying to endure the pain that those wretched twin spawns were causing. He didn't really trust that Dariru either; he was convinced she had something planned to take his Ishiko away. Or perhaps she had a plan to get her blue lover here to save the day. Keisuke smirked at the thought in amusement. If that did happen, he was positive he would win against the shark-man. All he had to do was say one word about how the shark's woman practically slept with him willingly. It made Keisuke wonder if Kisame would try to kill him first or the woman.

A clay servant came up to him with a piece of paper and held it out to him. Keisuke stared at it for a while before snatching it from the being's fingertips. "Thank you. You're dismissed." The servant bowed and marched away. The man looked at the folded paper suspiciously, knowing exactly what the servant had written down on it. When Ishiko had told him she wanted to speak with Dariru alone, he knew something was up. Though he wanted to trust his little sister, he knew he couldn't; not when Kakuzu's spawns were still growing in her uterus. Nevertheless, he obeyed her wishes and let the two have their private discussion. Of course, he told one of the servants standing guard to listen in on what the two were talking about and to write it all done, word-for-word.

He really wanted to open the paper, to see what the two had talked about. But he couldn't; not yet. It would seem too suspicious if he knew what they had talked about just moments after their conversation. Not to mention if it was something bad he wasn't sure if he could control his temper. The man slipped the paper in his kimono and walked towards the room where his sister was waiting for him. Perhaps he would read it in a few days?

When he opened the door to his room, he saw both girls sleeping on the bed peacefully. Keisuke cocked his head to the side as he stalked to them, eyes analyzing what he was seeing. The two looked like they were sisters who were separated at birth. Or even…what was that story…? The princess and the pauper. Keisuke smiled as he stared at the two, deciding that was exactly what the two were. The two were similar, but different. Ishiko had long hair, Dariru had short hair. Ishiko had slightly tanned skin, Dariru had ghostly pale skin.. Both had brown eyes and had flat chests, but only one chose to dress more like a boy. Not to mention Ishiko had only one scar instead of numerous ones caused by the bites from a lover.

However, no matter how similar the two may have been, Keisuke thought Ishiko was prettier. There was just no way he could think of anyone else that was even as equally beautiful as his sister. Not even big-name celebrities came close. He stared down at the slumbering girls again and saw hidden between their bodies were their hands. Their fingers were interlocked with each other as if they were silently comforting one another, even in sleep. It made Keisuke wince with jealousy, but he kept himself under control. Ishiko just looked so content right now that he couldn't bare the thought of awaking her should he try to pry her friend from the bed.

He lay next to Ishiko and stared at her, not daring to touch any part of her body in case he would wake her. The folded paper pressed against his bare chest, practically begging for him to read it. But the man took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He would read it some time tomorrow. But for now, he would just take a nap next to his sister.

* * *

I really like Tadashi too. I mean... now he is a prophet! Granted... he kind of always was bit this is his chance to shine since I killed him off so early in the sequal...


	45. Chapter 45

Reviews are much appareciated still. But this chapter was really short. But you guys got six chapters this time, how many authors are that nice?

* * *

Chapter Forty-Five

Ishiko couldn't exactly describe her situation as a mother properly. It was good and it was bad. Well… she was really only going through with it for Kakuzu's sake. He apparently liked the idea of having children. But she had mixed emotions about it. It wasn't like she exactly disliked kids. Being with her Mother for as long as she was deprived her of the right of relating to children. She had to grow up too soon. As a child she had to learn very quickly to temper herself around her Mother, and how to lie. She couldn't be stupid or naïve around the woman or she would definitely have been beaten. But having something… growing inside her, something that would soon see and breathe brought something else rise in her chest.

She supposed that emotion was the only thing that was stopping her from totally hating this unborn child in her womb. So she clung to it with all she had. Her burning heart would not stop her from loving the twins. She couldn't wait to hold them in her arms, perhaps sing to them even though she had a horrible singing voice. But Pein had given singing orders. As soon as they were old enough, they would start their training to be a shinobi. Oh the guilt she felt for her children, for they would be raised by all those S-ranked criminals. Her only hope in that situation was Dariru.

Dariru could protect them from those horrible truths of life in the base and keep them safe when she was gone on a mission. She was incredibly grateful she had met the girl that day she had to deliver a message to Kisame. She couldn't even remember what it was, but she recalled it was a will of some sort but she didn't see any point in it. It wasn't like she had any possessions she left behind to give to anybody. The only people in Akatsuki she associated with back then was Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara and Zetsu. Sasori hardly talked so she wouldn't have counted him. Itachi as well.

She would consider Dariru as a sister. Though they didn't know each other very long, they could definitely relate. They both fell for S-ranked criminals for one reason or another, to be honest; she rather admired the way Dariru fell so deeply in love with Kisame and vice versa. It was like a romantic comedy. She was following him like paparazzi and he simply allowed it until she had gotten under his skin. Dariru had gotten under Ishiko's skin as well. It was incredibly hard not to like her. Her personality was just so welcoming and once you've started talking to her, you would start wishing to talk to her again. Though she didn't like it herself, she couldn't blame Suigetsu if he fell for her as well. The only thing that was stopping her from pursuing Dariru was admittedly her own faithfulness and undying affection towards Kakuzu –her heart burned when she thought that.

Ishiko wouldn't really say it was her straightness that was keeping her from that. She was pansexual after all. Not bi like Tadashi. For her, genders didn't really matter.

---

Tadashi's breath was coming in rapid pants, but he refused to give up. He fixed his sleeve, but instead of pulling it up all the way he simply tucked it under his headband around his waist, displaying his burn that marked his fate. Kakuzu had to say, in a sense, he was rather jealous of the sight. Tadashi had something that marked his faithfulness as a guardian for Ishiko. He had nothing but his aching heart. At first, when he declared her and he engaged, she was perfectly fine about not receiving anything. After all why go under normal traditions when their relationship in itself wouldn't really be called normal? But she was fine with that. Now it was coming back to haunt him. Sure he had been raised to be a proper man. Always be kind to women, open the doors for them and all that –not that he obeyed any of them soon after becoming a shinobi- and especially the matter of the old rule if you impregnate a woman, you have to marry her to make her a true woman.

Though back then the thought of him sticking around long enough to see that he had indeed impregnated a woman was something to laugh at, none the less the thought of him falling this steeply in love was an idea never thought on its own. He had never wanted children, or a wife, or even a fiancé back then. But now what? He was happy, ecstatic even about the thought that the love of his long life was having his children. And the fact that he knew he would always want to be with her nagged the old part of his mind. Even the thought of what his very own children would think of him scared him shitless, the thought of leaving Ishiko's ring finger bare bothered him somewhat.

"Tadashi." He had to ask. He just had to. Tadashi glanced back, signaling he was paying attention even though he had said nothing.

"Did you ever have a dream…?" Ishiko had told him before; she never really desired a white wedding. But was that just her adjusting her own emotions for him? He knew she used to always have to temper herself around her Mother in order to avoid a beating, but was Ishiko changing herself to have a more suitable lifestyle according to his own personality?

"About me marrying Ishiko?" Kakuzu finished and Tadashi slowed in his steps before hurrying again. Tadashi gulped and looked forward.

"No." Grief filled Kakuzu and his own steps slowed ever so slightly but he started up again just as fast. He would never marry Ishiko? He would never get the opportunity of seeing her completely in white and walk down the aisle? Tadashi must have sensed the man's sudden dread, Kisame had in relation. The blue man himself would have had a fit if he found out he would never marry his own precious Dariru someday if not any day. But the amethyst-eyes man glanced back with a sincere smile on his face.

"But anything can happen; I haven't even seen what your twin boys will look like yet."

"Hopefully, they'll look like their mother," Kakuzu mused. Tadashi chuckled and gave him a smile.

"Oh, you're not that bad looking Kakuzu-san. It's just those scars of yours that make you look a little scary." The stitched man rolled his eyes and looked back at Kisame. If Dariru ever got pregnant with that man's seed, he would feel sorry for the child. They just may end up looking like their father and not a whole lot of people warm up to humans that look different. Kakuzu was glad that his stitches or the faces on his back weren't genetic.

Tadashi sighed and paused for a moment. "You guys won't mind if we don't stop for the night, do you? I still feel edgy from that dream, and the only way I can wear that off is if I move around a lot."

Kakuzu shook his head and he heard Kisame grumble from behind, "No, we won't mind. Just so long as you know where you're going in the dark."

A little chuckle came from the young man, "I will. And I'll be sure to slow down, just in case you can't."

--

Dariru opened her eyes slowly at the sudden presence of another body next to hers. She saw Ishiko's face resting on a pillow, her eyes closed in a deep sleep. It made the girl smile at how sleep could make someone forget about what was going on in the outside world. The short-haired girl gently released her friend's hand and slipped off the bed silently, not even hearing the slightest disturbance from the pregnant girl. However, she heard another disturbance and looked at the bed to see Keisuke sitting up. His long brown hair fell around his face, and for a moment Dariru thought she saw a demon with the way his eyes narrowed at her from the sudden awakening. It was his smile that reminded her he was human.

"Thank you for keeping my sister company," he whispered as a hand stroked Ishiko's hair, "but next time, try not to make yourself that comfortable again. Only I will sleep with Ishiko. Not you or anybody else." His smile grew wider, "Do I make myself clear?"

Dariru nodded hurriedly.

"Good. Now get out." Without hesitation, the short-haired girl left the room and went straight to her own. Keisuke looked down at his now moving sister, wondering if it was his speech that awoke her or Dariru's sudden exit.

The girl looked at him through half-closed eyes, "Where's Dariru-chan?"

The boy caressed her face gently as if she were a porcelain doll. "She went back to her room, Ishi-koi. Don't worry," he kissed her forehead and heard her breath hitch. A tiny smirk pulled at his mouth as desire began to boil in the depths of his gut. He began to place small butterfly kisses all over her face until he reached her lips, where he lingered for the longest time. Her own mouth moved with his, and though he could tell in her movements she was still tired he pressed onward, wanting more from his little sister than just a kiss.

"Onii-koi," she breathed the moment his mouth latched to her neck, "W-what are you doing?"

His mouth found hers again before he replied, "Doing what I've always wanted to do to the person I love the most." There was a slight resistance from her when his hand slipped under her kimono, but once he started teasing the right spot her resistance stopped and she became willing to his touches and kisses. Keisuke grinned victoriously to himself when his little sister didn't say a thing the moment he slipped his kimono off.

_She belongs to me now Kakuzu._

--

There wasn't much to do in the temple, and though Dariru wanted to go outside she knew she couldn't. The doors might lock on her again and Itachi might not be there to let her in again. So, after walking around the building a few times and looking into the rooms that weren't locked, the girl decided to take a bath. She didn't bathe yesterday and she was beginning to feel grimy. Not to mention the warm water would help her chakra flow more freely. However, when she walked by Ishiko's room, she could have sworn she heard a thumping noise.

At first she was going to ignore it, but her curiosity held her feet in place and the girl couldn't help but begin to press an ear to the door. The moment she did, a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away. She gasped and then sighed at the sight of Itachi's glaring face.

"God damn it Itachi-san," the girl breathed as her heart pounded heavily; "you've got to stop doing that."

"I'm a ninja," the man replied, "I'm supposed to do that." The girl rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulder out of his grip before nodding to the door.

"Any idea what's going on in there?"

The Uchiha looked away and shook his head. "You should know. You and Kisame did it practically every night."Shock quaked through Dariru's body and her legs would have given out if not for Itachi's forceful hands dragging her away from the door, nearly bruising her arm, though she had taken more than that more than countless times in her career as a kunoichi. But Dariru was still concerned and tried to resist. Was Ishiko alright? Was her brother forcing this on her? He probably was, and then her memories came back to that bite mark on his lip.

"I wouldn't delve too deeply into it if I were you, Keisuke gets what he wants." Itachi warned and Dariru stopped resisting for a short moment. He was right. No matter what she would just get herself and Ishiko especially in deeper trouble than they already are. She let her head slump guiltily.

"I'm sorry, Ishiko-chan."

---

"What did you dream about Tadashi-san?" Kisame asked respectfully as Tadashi kept hopping from branch to branch saying it expended more energy, above the two Akatsuki members. Tadashi glanced down and then looked forward; grabbing a much higher branch and swinging on it, to be honest he looked like some sort of gymnast.

"I wasn't exactly sure, this one was real blurry. But Keisuke lost it completely; he attacked one of the girls, and went at the other with a knife." He didn't want to say which was which, after all of he saw that when they were going normal speed, and since they had sped up now, they were bound to get there to at least get there before that happened. Kakuzu glanced up this time, probably assuming the situation before it had even happened.

"Should we go faster then?" Kisame asked before Kakuzu could ask anything but Tadashi shook his head.

"I'll try and dream more, I'll have to really focus since naturally I'll dream about Tsuwa-senpai but I really want to focus on your girl this time. She seems to be the key in this. But if I dreamt that and we hurried since, we might have in our own way prevented the outcome of that possible future." Tadashi explained, hopping like a kangaroo this time, obviously in a rush to get rid of some excess chakra and energy. Kisame nodded, understanding his words and looked up at Kakuzu.

"By my estimations, we probably killed a day or two. And we're heading up to the Takari Deserts." Tadashi said eagerly and Kisame scratched his head in wonder.

"Why does that name sound so… familiar?" Tadashi glanced back with guilty eyes.

"That was Tsuwa-senpai's father. He was killed in the second great Ninja War and the Tsuchikage called those great deserts after him, such a sad event it was." Tadashi murmured solemnly and Kisame chuckled, remembering the man himself.

"I actually remember him. I was still training to be a Seven Swordsmen member and the Iwagakure Royal Forces came through my little village, he challenged me to a spar and we fought, but I could tell he let me win because even though I did win, he didn't have a scratch on him. Said I could prevail anything if I tried." Kisame recalled, he only remembered it because that man was one of the few people who actually saw past his gill-like markings and blue skin. Though it was so long ago, but he never would have thought Ishiko would have been born from such a man like that.

---

Keisuke could definitely relate as to why Kakuzu would continue such a vulgar relationship with Ishiko. As much as he despised his old lover, he could appreciate the man's good taste. At least he was able to appreciate Ishiko somewhat, but never to the fullest like he had. Who couldn't? Her creamy almond skin flushed with pink was a memory and sight to simply adore. He almost hesitated to penetrate her had not for her clouded eyes egging him on. Lust was what drove him on to dirty her body with his sin-filled body. A sin drives a sin.

She finished so cutely too. She gasped and covered her own mouth with her tiny hands as he pushed back to watch. But she needed release just as badly as he did. He had been waiting patiently for eight year for just her body. They fit together just so naturally, and he wasn't surprised in the least. His little Ishiko's body wasn't meant for a big oaf's body like Kakuzu. Her rapid breathing as he thrust his pink sword back and forth was music, the sweetest he had ever heard. Although, she finished before him and, like Dariru, he had pulled out to release his seed on the sheets rather than putrefy her womb like Kakuzu had.

He was a saint on his own though, he thought with slightly narrowed eyes. He knew of Dariru's relationship with Kisame and had taken great care to her feelings. He disguised himself, he had cleaned up afterwards, and he didn't release his cum inside her either. He was incredibly kind with the whole act, but he could be rude about it if he wanted to. He was a gentleman after all. Ishiko's soft breathing made him look at her with victory and his loose hair fell over his shoulders. She was finally his, and all his. She was turned on her side, and the sheets covered her completely, but he didn't even bother. It wasn't like he was rather ashamed of his body, though the scars got to him every once in a while. He sighed and looked over at the night, deciding to read it now since he was finished with his fun.

But as his eyes scanned over the words, his anger bubbled to the surface of his normally kind resolve, and his eyes narrowed drastically. As he finished he crumbled the note, looking over at his sly little sister. She was truly a remarkable little girl. She suspected the servant outside the door and preformed a spy ninjutsu, to keep apparently the most sensitive information hidden forever. But he could easily find that out from Dariru. The girl may have been a good kunoichi guessing from how many time she almost injured him, but she was no spy. She had no idea how to deflect the arts of black ops and maybe with a couple of genjutsu tricks, he'll find out more of what he wanted to know.

He glanced over at his sleeping sister once more before moving of the bed and grabbing a regal kimono off the edge of the bed and whipping it on in mere seconds. It must be that Dariru. She giving off such a negative vibe since she came her and obviously she's a bad influence on Ishiko. He looked over at his sleeping sibling and went over to pick something out for her to wear when she woke. Grabbing a light salmon pink kimono jacket with komodo dragons and bamboo decorated it in green and brown colors he placed it delicately on a chair next to the bed and looked over in the mirror to fix his hair. He grabbed a purple ribbon and tied it back just like he always did. He grumbled under his breathe and headed out the door, making sure to close it carefully and not wake Ishiko but quickly called the servants in attention.

"Nobody goes in, and nobody comes out aside from me and Itachi when under my orders. The faceless clay figures nodded. Keisuke nodded back with a glare and started off down the hallway.

"After I'm done we'll start the procedure."

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I'm so good at cliffhangers aren't I? I mean... we... O_O


	46. Chapter 46

I forgot the reviews I'm supposed to reply to.

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Chapter 46

Keisuke paused in front of Dariru's door, wondering what sort of genjutsu would be best for this situation. If he tried to be Kisame again he might slip up with a lack of knowledge which would make her suspect something. Then again he could always pretend to be his own sister and get the information out that way. It was then that the young man felt the presence of the Uchiha. "What do you want Itachi-san?"

"I was just making sure you were alright, Keisuke-sama." The man mumbled and suddenly, an idea struck Keisuke.

"Itachi-san," the young man stated, apparently stopping Itachi from walking any further away. "What is Dariru-san most afraid of?"

A small laugh came from the Uchiha. The gesture made Keisuke look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Forgive me, Keisuke-sama but her fear…it's so amusing and ironic." The black-haired man cleared his throat and his emotionless expression returned. "Dariru-san is afraid of…sharks."

Keisuke chuckled out, now understanding why Itachi had laughed. "She's screwing a man that looks like a shark and that's what she's afraid of!? Friggin' _sharks_!?" He let out a howl of laughter, not caring who heard it. This was going to be easier than he thought. Few bursts of laughter came from the man as he waved Itachi away, "Th-thank you. I-itachi-san. You may g-go now." Itachi hesitated, but walked away the moment the man's laughter ceased.

After concentrating his chakra, Keisuke entered the girl's room without even knocking. He made sure he appeared as a shark with arms, hands, legs and feet; hopefully the girl would be too terrified to think rationally. She was on the bed, just staring at the ceiling. But at the sound of her door opening and closing, she rolled her eyes and sat up.

"Alright, who is it, and do you—" Her eyes widened in fear at the sight of him, telling Keisuke that the genjutsu was working. A high-pitched scream poured out of her mouth before she scrambled off of the bed and hit the floor. Keisuke jumped on the bed, crouching on his hind-legs like an animal to keep convincing her mind that this was real. She was huddled up in a ball with her hands over her eyes. Incoherent speech was coming out of her mouth, but he didn't care what she was saying. He needed to know what she had told Ishiko.

"Little girl," he made sure the chakra adjusted the sound of his voice to one of a gurgling monster. "What did you say to Ishiko?"

Dariru shook her head fervently as her hands shifted to her ears, her eyes clenched tightly shut. "No! No, you're not real! You can't be! My dreams…the nightmares stopped coming long ago." A smile came over Keisuke's face at her babbling; this was going to be easier to pull off than he assumed.

He grabbed her jaw and pulled her face up just as her eyes opened, daring another look. She would have screamed again if he hadn't been holding her jaw. "Tell me," he urged as frightened tears fell from her eyes. "What did you tell Ishiko? And don't lie. I'll know if you are."

She gulped and shook her head again, "No. I can't. Keisuke will hurt her."

He glared at the girl and his grip tightened. "Why would he do that?" When no answer came from her, the man shook her so violently that the back of her head slammed against the wall. "TELL ME!" The girl began to sob out of fear and closed her eyes before shaking her head once more. At first he wanted to hurt her again, but he thought of something that he knew would make her talk. "If you don't tell me, I'll go to Ishiko and get the information out of her instead." He tossed her aside and began to stalk towards the door.

"WAIT!" The girl shrieked, reaching out to him desperately. Keisuke grinned and turned expectantly.

"Well?" He urged her.

She looked at the ground, not daring to look at him. "If I tell you, will Ishiko-chan be harmed?"

"No." he promised sincerely.

A shaky breath came from her as she spoke. "She was afraid her attack would harm her babies…and…I c-comforted her."

"How?"

"By telling her it was going to be okay."

"What _else!?_" He demanded and Dariru whimpered, looking down and tears ran down her cheeks. She looked away, and bit her lip in frustration.

"She… she taught me a jutsu… I used it to talk to Kisame… they're on their way…" She stopped momentarily but Keisuke really wasn't in the mood for her guilt to kick in so he slammed his large arm on the floor next to her and she screamed in shock before biting her lip to silence herself. But her hands shakily came up and covered her ears.

"I told them we were in Iwagakure and that a guy named Tadashi was with them, they were a couple of days away that's it I swear!!" She screamed, turning the other direction, fear driving her into a corner and she wanted to get as far from this thing as she could. But Keisuke froze. Tadashi? The idiot drop-out he killed? Damn it! He was still alive? How!?! Questions of anger bubbled and he yelled; slamming his fist into the wall, not caring his fist was now bloodied from the broken picture he had smashed. Dariru gave out a shriek and jumped as he did so and he glanced back at her. Was she really this scared of sharks? He may as well play with her a little more; maybe she may even piss herself.

Keisuke grinned again, and moved closer.

"Look at me." He ordered. Dariru shook her head, babbling more and more but Keisuke narrowed his eyes in dissatisfaction. In a sudden movement he roughly grabbed Dariru's chin and knocked her to the side, and she shook in fear and he grabbed her neck, slamming her up against the wall as he smiled at her. Dariru was fumbling now, the girl crying and shrieking in his grip. She was so amusing. It was like watching a fly's wings slowly ripped off. But she still wouldn't look at him.

"Look at me!!" He yelled more fiercely this time, pulling her towards him then slamming her again, her head bouncing off the wall and she shrieked again, using her legs this time to try and kick him while her whole body squirmed.

"Keep kicking me like that and I might bite those pretty little legs right off." Keisuke threatened, smiling even wider while Dariru looked at him fully –or at least in her eyes, the shark with limbs- and he could have sworn he saw her die a little. Perfect. But she stopped resisting, and her legs curled despite her uncomfortable position. He had gotten his information, so he was done with his business. "If you try to contact anyone else again, I'll torture you. Do you understand?" She nodded hurriedly and he released his grip, watching her as she crawled away from him the moment her body had reached the ground. The girl refuge in the closest corner and hugged her knees with shaking limbs.

The man grinned at what he had done and walked out of the room, releasing the jutsu the moment the door clicked shut. If he was lucky, he might have scared her enough to be slightly terrified of Kisame. He straightened his kimono and walked back towards his room, planning on having a little talk with his sister when she woke up. In fact, he just may "punish" Ishiko for teaching Dariru that whispering bird technique. After he was done with that he would have to start looking for a new location for them to stay. There was no way he was going to let anyone take his Ishiko away from him. And if it meant killing Tadashi again, then so be it.

--

Sand stretched out before the three men for what seemed like an endless amount of miles. The sun was beginning to touch the horizon, indicating the approaching night, but Tadashi walked back to the forest and sat down. "We can rest until nightfall. It'd be a bad choice if we kept walking during the day." The boy eyes the men as the two sat down with him; both of them looked exhausted and Tadashi couldn't blame them. "Also, you might not want to wear too much black." He advised, pointing at Kakuzu's Akatsuki cloak and Kisame's black shirt. "But only when we're traveling by day, of course."

Kakuzu rolled his eyes, "I bet the next thing you'll tell us is that we need sunscreen." The young man gave him a mischievous smile and laughed.

"No. Sorry. Didn't bring any with me. " He laid down and closed his eyes, "I'm gonna try to get another prediction in. Wake me when the sun's gone." The moment the boy started to begin snoring lightly, Kisame turned to Kakuzu.

"How long do you think it'll take to cross this desert?"

Kakuzu sighed and stared at the expansion of sand. "At the pace we're going it should only take a day. Two if we only travel by night."

"Guess we'll be traveling by day and night," the blue man grumbled.

--

Ishiko woke up with a start, breathing heavily from the dream she had just had. But when the sheets fell off her naked body and exposed her almond skin to the cold air, the girl slowly realized it had been no dream. She had allowed her older brother to take her, and she didn't do a thing about it. She wasn't sure if she should cry or be joyous at what had happened. At least Keisuke had been gentle about it, unlike Kakuzu who normally pounded her like a punching bag, but she couldn't help but feel guilty for what she had let happen. If Kakuzu did arrive at the temple, Ishiko wasn't even sure if she could look him in the eye any more.

The girl stood up and found the kimono laid out on the chair, waiting specifically for her. Taking her time the girl put the silk outfit on, staring at the hand-crafted designs as if in a daze. Should she tell Dariru what had happened? She felt like she should, but then again the pregnant girl was not sure if she could stand seeing the look of astonishment on her friend's face if she did. It would just add on to the guilt she was feeling already.

The moment the kimono was on completely she made her way out of the room. She needed to get out of the place where she and her brother had fucked. Even the scent of sex still lingered in her nose when she made her way down the hall, not quite sure where her feet were taking her. In fact, she didn't really care where she went at the moment, she just wanted to be alone and think. She loved Keisuke, but she didn't think she loved him _that_ much. That kind of love seemed only reserved for one person, and he was miles away. Her hand traced over her protruding stomach and she couldn't help but smile. Did her babies know when she was smiling at them? Did they know what was going on outside of their warm womb? It made Ishiko wish she had a safe place to seek refuge in without any interruptions.

Hands grabbed her shoulders tightly, pulling her from her thoughts. Keisuke looked down at her with a smile on his face and questionable anger in his eyes. "Hello, Ishiko-chan."

--

It took Dariru a while for her sanity to return, but when it did she was able to rethink what had happened. Obviously one of two people place a genjutsu on her: Itachi or Keisuke. She was really hoping it hadn't been Keisuke, but Itachi already knew she had communicated with Kisame. So what reason would the man have to extract such information from her? The only other option was Keisuke, and it made Dariru shiver with fear and heart-wrenching guilt. What would he do to Ishiko? Surely he wasn't too crazy to harm his own sister? But Dariru couldn't take that chance, she had to get to Ishiko before he did.

Her legs were still shaking with fear as images of the shark's jaws opening and closing reappeared in front of her. It made her stomach churn and her legs freeze in place; she wasn't even sure if she would fall asleep tonight. She had to put forth a lot of effort to get herself to walk out of her room. A part of her mind was terrified that the genjutsu may come back, but she knew she had to overcome it. Including her own, four lives were at stake and she had to warn Ishiko what her brother may do. When the young girl rounded a corner, she saw Keisuke's back and in front of him was a surprised Ishiko.

"Hello, Ishiko-chan," the man said dangerously. At first Dariru just stood there and watched; maybe Keisuke wouldn't hurt his sister? Maybe he was just going to talk with her. If anything bad started happening, she would intervene. Before Ishiko could even speak, her brother kept going, "You've done a bad thing Ishi-koi. Teaching Dariru-san that whispering bird jutsu." He made a 'tsk'-ing noise and waved his finger, "I suppose I'll have to keep a closer eye on both of you from now on."

Ishiko gave a nervous chuckle before saying, "What are you talking about Onii-koi? I never taught Dariru-chan that. She doesn't have enough chakra to pull it off."

The man brushed his sister's cheek gently with the back of his hand. "Don't lie to me Ishiko-chan. It's not nice to lie to your brother." Dariru could see the tense muscles under the kimono and knew he was doing everything in his power to control himself. She just prayed Ishiko would see it too.

"I'm not lying Keisuke." The pregnant girl insisted and immediately her brother started shaking. He stepped away from her and clenched his fists.

"Please, Ishiko-chan," he managed to say through gritted teeth. "Don't lie to me again." Dariru stepped out from the corner, unable to hide herself any longer.

"Keisuke!" he turned and glared at the short-haired girl. "Don't take it out on her," Dariru pleaded, "She may have taught me the technique, but I contacted Kisame on my own accord. If you're gonna hurt anybody, hurt me."

Ishiko shook her head and mumbled, "Dariru don't…"

Keisuke, however, grinned and stalked towards the short-haired girl he had traumatized just minutes ago. "If that's what you wish, Dariru-san."

* * *

Ahhh!! My crush hates me! LOL


	47. Chapter 47

Ugh, this guy is pissing me off so much! He called me ugly!! I so am not! And he's datng this ugly-ass chick and he's calling ME ugly. Whatever, I'm so pissed about it.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Seven

Ishiko's eyes flashed from Keisuke to Dariru but she looked determined. Ishiko always did admire Dariru for her honest determination. Her time was always spent wisely, she never missed a beat. But she didn't expect less since Dariru was practically on a life mission to cover the story on the Seven Swordsmen story. Dariru was like a journalist who never gave up. But now was not the time, Ishiko didn't know how much she wanted to scream that at the girl. Keisuke grinned more wickedly than Ishiko had ever seen, and even her heart was racing with fear at the sight.

"I just hope I don't play too roughly, but you like rough don't you?" Keisuke circled around her now. Ishiko had never seen her brother this animalistic. He was a vulture, some sort of sick, twisted vulture. Was this the Keisuke that was with the Akatsuki? This must have been. The glint in his eyes was something she didn't recognize. But her attention flashed to Dariru. If he was cruel enough to Dariru while he was her Keisuke. How cruel and dangerous and evil could he be when he was this side of Keisuke Ishiko had never seen before?

"What are you talking about?" Dariru was keeping her eyes trained on him, Keisuke looked away momentarily, eyes flashing to his worried sister. He wondered. Was she worried for him? Or for Dariru? His mind lingered on the other option and his heart flared with jealousy. Dariru was a cautious one, and it was the cautious ones that ninja had to watch for. Maybe she may be a worthy opponent after all, he grinned even wider.

"After all, Kisame bites you a lot, but you bite back." Dariru's breathe quickened and she eyes the scar on his lip. She shook her head slightly and pulled out a kunai, trying to find her composure through all the thoughts that raced and buzzed in her head. Keisuke lifted his head and tapped his lip.

"You made quite a mark on me I have to give you that much Dariru-chan…" His eyes danced and Dariru felt her heart clench as the truth hit her like a train. At first she thought she may be having a heart attack from all the pressure that suddenly built up in her chest. It wasn't Kisame, just Keisuke in a fucking disguise. Damn it she knew! She knew she should have cut it when she didn't feel Kisame bite her, marking her as his multiple times. But instead of Kisame's teeth dig into her flesh, she felt butterfly kisses and she thought it was odd but she was too dazed to care at the time.

"Dariru-chan!" Ishiko screamed out and knocked Dariru right out of her wonderland, comprehending enough to see Keisuke launch right at her with a knife at hand. Dariru moved out of the way, pushing his arm down but he moved around her propelling himself behind her but Dariru didn't give him the chance. She swiveled, slashing her kunai and nicking him on the cheek and he winced, finally –still facing her- hopped back. Keisuke smiled slightly, covering his wound and Dariru cursed to herself. Keisuke knew her reaction to blood.

"Don't think I don't do research on my pets Dariru-chan." Keisuke said as he quickly wiped away the blood and Dariru growled. He did not just call her his pet did he? Dariru tightened the kunai in her hands, glaring at him. She couldn't listen to him. She absolutely should not listen to him. That's how he gets people caught in his genjutsu. He talks and talks and talks but she shouldn't let it get to her, nobody how much of a cocky little bastard he was.

"Keisuke." Ishiko murmured, catching Keisuke's attention. Dariru only glanced back, keeping her eyes trained on the man as he stopped and looked at his sister with a surprised look. His eyes widened shortly, realizing what he had done. He had admitted to sleeping with Dariru… in front of her.

---

"I can't believe the little bastard won't wake up!" Kakuzu breathed as he walked through the sand next to Kisame. When the sun had finally disappeared behind the horizon, the two men had tried to wake Tadashi from his nap, but the young man had refused to even acknowledge someone was disturbing his sleep. Either he was dead or he was a very heavy sleeper. Kakuzu had gone with the dead option and was about to leave the boy behind until Kisame reminded him that he was the only one who could truly beat the shit out of Keisuke. And since Kisame had a close to useless arm, Kakuzu was the one who had to carry the slumbering prophet.

The two men made their way over sand dunes, thankful for the night's cool air. "Well, maybe he's having an important premonition," Kisame offered, hoping it may stop the older man's complaints. He knew as well as anybody how much of an impact dreams could have on people. He had to deal with Dariru's terrified babbles for a short time when her sleeps had been haunted by nightmares. The girl had even told him what some of the nightmares were about only because they weren't "the worst". Of course, the ones she did tell him about sounded like a scene from an over-the-top kill-fest from a horror movie. Perhaps that was why the girl loved blood so much, because she saw it every time she slept?

Kakuzu grumbled and shifted the boy higher up on his back to keep him from falling. They were going a little slower than before, but t least they were moving. The stitched man shot a small glare at Kisame before returning his attention to the sand before him. If they hadn't have fallen off that cliff they probably would be at the temple by now. He just wanted to hold Ishiko in his arms and hear her voice in his ear again. The man hadn't realized how much he could miss her after such a short amount of time. Then again, she had been kidnapped by her psychotic older brother and that just made Kakuzu more determined to get her back. He just hoped Keisuke didn't try anything with his woman. Again, Kakuzu glanced at Kisame and gave the blue man a look of pity when he wasn't looking. Keisuke may try something with Dariru, especially since Ishiko had such a strong connection with the girl. He just hoped Kisame was good at fighting when rage was blinding his sight.

Tadashi twitched against his back and the young man's hands grabbed Kakuzu's tightly. The stitched man stopped and craned his neck to try to see the man, "You awake?"

"Yes," Tadashi whispered. "Someone has had very strong thoughts of suicide." Both older men paused at the comment.

"Do you know who?" Kisame pressed, hoping it wasn't Dariru who was thinking such things.

The young man shook his head, "No. It wasn't very clear again." He slid off of Kakuzu's back and stared at the ground in confusion before nodding his head. "Oh! You guys carried me through the desert because you didn't want to wake me?" He sounded flattered by the strange idea, and before Kisame could open his mouth to explain Kakuzu jabbed a thumb in the blue man's direction.

"It was his idea not to wake you." He grumbled before continuing the walk, ignoring Kisame's glare.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you!" Tadashi seemingly giggled, "No wonder Dariru-chan likes you so much. You're so considerate of other people." Kisame couldn't help but glare daggers at Kakuzu's back as he followed the stitched man.

"Don't mention it," the blue man grumbled as Tadashi quickly got ahead of both men.

--

Keisuke looked at Ishiko with an apologetic look on his face. What a mistake he had made. But then he had to recall her betrayals of him, but he dismissed them. Ishiko was Ishiko. He couldn't be mad at her, then his eyes returned to Dariru with a small glare.

"Look at what you made me do." Keisuke gestured over to the Ishiko whose face was full of surprise and sadness. Dariru looked at him with astonishment.

"You… You bastard!" Dariru launched at him and Ishiko gasped as she slashed at him with the kunai.

"You brought this upon yourself! How dare you blame me for it!" Dariru yelled at him and Ishiko growled at herself. She should be there. Helping Dariru. She set a hand on her stomach and stared at it. It was such a burden, and now she wasn't able to help her friend when she needed it most. How many times has Dariru assisted Ishiko? Too many to count, and how many times have she helped Dariru in return? She asked herself many times over until she simply couldn't stand it anymore.

"I love Kisame! I love him more than I ever dreamed to love somebody!" Dariru's hits were becoming stronger as her voice rose higher and higher. They just weren't landed on Keisuke's fluid body. Keisuke only chuckled as he ducked another hit, and he threw a hit of his own, cutting the fabric over Dariru's stomach. She stopped momentarily, staring in shock at the cut on her shirt and Keisuke hopped away yet again.

"You are no match, and the only one who is shall never step foot into this temple." Keisuke smirked, but apparently Dariru had a comeback of her own. Growling, she turned her head at him and gave him a nasty snarl.

"No matter what, Kakuzu and Tadashi will come save Ishiko, because hers and Kakuzu's love is far greater than your cowardice!" Out of nowhere, Dariru could feel a fist hit her cheek like a cannon ball and she was sent bent. She landed on the marble-hard floor with a grunt and she hid her face in the crook of her elbow. She tried to regain her balance, but her mind was swirling. He cheek was throbbing and she knew there was going to be a bruise there. She glanced up and Keisuke wore the most crazed look she had ever seen.

"Keisuke stop!!" Ishiko screamed, dropping to her knees and reaching out for her brother, but the man was bent on revenge for that comment. Dariru grunted, trying to find energy in herself to get up, and she finally managed to barely get off her knees before Keisuke flickered before her and landed a powerful kick in her abdomen.

She felt a crack in her back from the impact upon the pillar, but her head was spinning and she heard a small ringing in her ears. Before she could fully slide down and catch her breath, a strong grip grabbed her throat and pushed her further up. Her clothes ripped more, catching on the protruding cracks of the pillar and cutting into her skin. But Keisuke didn't care, she had insulted him. No… She had insulted Ishiko as well. Any fool would know Keisuke's love for his dear younger sister burned greater than that of even the sun. She felt a cough erupt in her throat, and a warm liquid made its way into her mouth.

"I suppose I cannot kill you, your purpose is much too important. But I can crush your bones in a way your life is nothing but a miserable existence in true suffering as a vessel." Keisuke snarled near her ear and lifted her, throwing her to the other side of the room and she yelped, her damaged and wounded back hitting the cold floor. Ishiko screamed as well in worry.

"Keisuke you have to stop it! You'll kill her!" Ishiko screeched. Keisuke didn't bother to give her a glance, but he paused, listening to her. When he still didn't move Ishiko decided to keep talking.

"I-…If she dies I do too." Ishiko threatened, and just to prove her point, she drew out a small knife she made a habit of carrying strapped to the inside of her thigh and pointed it to her neck. Her eyes looked at Dariru, crumpled on the floor like a broken doll. She could hear Dariru's straggling breathes and she coughed, making Ishiko gasp silently Keisuke stopped and looked at her, raising his hand with the knife and dipping it in her direction.

"Your connections with trash are something to spit upon, what level have you reduced to Ishiko? First it's this ridiculous alliance with that wretched Akatsuki, then it's that absolutely repulsive relationship with Kakuzu-san, now it's this… friendship with this mutt?" Keisuke waited for an answer from her, and he shrugged and lifted his eyebrows. Suddenly Ishiko felt cold hands overlap hers on the knife handle and he added more force onto the knife, piercing her skin.

"Besides…" Keisuke chuckled, crouching over Dariru.

"We both know those types of injuries would heal up before you bleed to death." Keisuke shrugged it off and Ishiko's eyes shifted to the side, recognizing the ruby eyes of Itachi. "Sorry, Ishiko." He said softly before sliding the knife over Ishiko's throat.

---

"Only a couple of miles more, we don't want to give Keisuke too much time to sense us." Tadashi said back to the two other men and Kisame winced from his slanged arm nodded anyways.

"Are you alright? Not drying up backing there are you?" Kakuzu said lowly, glancing back at him with a mocking look and Kisame felt himself smirk. Sure he was sweating like a pig from this unbelievable heat, but it was Dariru on the line. Sure she told him she was fine, but she could be puking her guts out of be suffering from a disease and she would have told him the same thing. And God knows what Keisuke might do. He wasn't about to take a chance like that, he would risk being dehydrated if it was for Dariru.

"I wouldn't be talking. If you lay down you would be considered a mummy; dry and old." The exhaustion factor was definitely on Kisame's side. For the tan man was way too tired to bother and send his tendrils after him, but grunted and kept running. Besides, Kakuzu was only an upper-torso buff, when it came to running, he wasn't as strong as he appeared to be. Kisame on the other hand, had strong thighs and calves. Dariru always had admired them…

"Keep talking like that and I won't hesitate and dislocate that other arm of yours." Kakuzu warned, looking back momentarily to shoot Kisame a glare. Tadashi stopped and waved his open palms in front of him.

"Hey! Hey! We can't fight amongst ourselves! If you guys fight that affects the future and I'd have to stop to make another prophecy, do you really want to waste another night?" Kisame and Kakuzu stopped momentarily and shook their heads. Tadashi nodded back, placing his hands on his very feminine hips and turned around again, His shoulder-length hair waving in the slight night breeze.

"Lord Tomoe specially placed me in charge of Ishiko from birth, and I was charge with the fate of the Akatsuki due to that very choice, I do not intend to let them down because you two keep arguing like this." Tadashi's voice drastically lowered, and he turned to look at them with one of his amethyst eyes.

"Do you two understand that much?" Tadashi asked again and Kakuzu grunted. Kisame only nodded as Tadashi sighed.

"Look, time's running short, let's kill another day and get there right away before they sense us." Tadashi looked forward again as he made the mental calculations.

"If we hurry now, we might get there by tomorrow night. That's a good sign." He looked at the two Akatsuki members as if he needed approval and they headed out again.

---

Ishiko bent forward, grasping at her neck as she struggled for breathe, and thinking in regret as her blood stained the front of her hand-crafted kimono.

"Dariru…" Ishiko rasped out, looking at her friend, still slumped over and then her wound felt like it was on fire, before she felt no pain at all. Keisuke could feel his own chest filling with heat and looked down at the now unconscious Dariru. He clenched his teeth and looked at his sister again. His heart burning.

"Ishiko… do you love me?" Keisuke asked, his face fading into sorrow and grief. Ishiko didn't even look at him.

"I love Dariru, Keisuke you can't kill her." Ishiko begged again and managed –with shaky legs- to get up and she ran over between him and the girl who had stolen his Ishiko away from him. Keisuke's eyes narrowed and flashed over to Itachi, pointing his knife at him now.

"Itachi-san! Get Ishiko away from here, NOW!" Keisuke yelled fiercely but Itachi shook his head slowly, revealing the chain-like marking that looped on his wrist.

"Our deal was that I serve your will, because it is that of Ishiko's will as well. If my actions conflict with her interests than you have no grounds to harm Sasuke." Itachi spoke back, trying his best to withhold his smirk. Keisuke's eyes widened in shock but they narrowed again and with a grunt he swung the knife in Ishiko's direction, "Get out of the way." He snarled but Ishiko didn't even look at him despite her pounding heart. She held the bleeding girl in her arms and cuddled her like a puppy. Keisuke growled again, moving his fingers across the handle. Anger filled his heart and mind. How could he lose to such an insignificant being?!

"You're not my Keisuke. I do not hold any affection for you." Ishiko mumbled, not looking anywhere in particularly but still holding Dariru close. Keisuke felt his world drop down on him again. Like his life was over now. If Ishiko didn't love him, then there was no life to live for. He couldn't stand to live without Ishiko's love. All of his strength escaped him for a split second and his lips twitched into a mock smile.

"You do not… love me?" Keisuke asked again and Ishiko shook her head, hiding her growing tears in Dariru's silky hair. Keisuke laughed emptily, looking over to Itachi.

"You hear that? Ishiko no longer loves me." Keisuke guffawed before looking down at Ishiko's form again.

"But you love… your Keisuke." Keisuke admitted bitterly.

"Why can't you accept this Keisuke?" He asked again, pressing his silver blade against his chest, as if to cool his flaming heart. Ishiko merely looked down at Dariru, wiping her bloodied chin with her kimono sleeve.

"Then that is not love. You cannot fully accept me… but you can accept Kakuzu? Dariru? Tadashi even?" Keisuke thought for a moment this was just a cruel joke. Fate had played a very evil hand on him this time. Was not enough that his father, his only support died in war? But Lady Fate had to steal his only light in the darkness too? Ishiko couldn't take the questioning anymore and clenched her eyes shut.

"Yes." She admitted. She wanted Kakuzu and Kisame here now. They would know what to do. She was only a child. How was she supposed to deal with this? She wanted to go home now.

God had never heard any of her other wishes, but Dariru must have been wishing it too. This wish was heard.

* * *

Cheeky Half-Demon must be happy again with this chapter. LOL.


	48. Chapter 48

God I want a Russian guy so much or Australian. Man, I don't know what it is, but I just cannot get a boyfriend. I don't want to do drugs but I want to party ya know?

* * *

Chapter 48

Keisuke stared at his sister in disbelief as she cradled the unconscious and bleeding mutt, staining her expensive kimono in the girl's blood. How could she not love his other side? The only difference between her Keisuke and the Akatsuki's Keisuke was that one was more violent than the other. Was that so bad of a difference to make her not love him fully? Last night she didn't seem to mind, then again he was being her Keisuke, not the other one. Why couldn't she accept both sides of him? She got herself impregnated by a criminal for goodness sake! Why was his sudden change in attitude so drastic for her tastes?

Jealousy and sadness roared through his body as he continued to watch his beloved sister keep her attention on the mutt. She probably would never hold him with so much love and concern as she was doing now for her fallen friend. The boy never wanted to kill someone so badly as now because of his jealousy. If she didn't love both of his sides now, then she would in time. As long as Kakuzu and Tadashi were out of his way, he would succeed in making Ishiko his. Dariru would die in time and would be broken down, mentally, before her death. He would make sure of that now that he knew what her fear was.

"Itachi-san," Keisuke mumbled before letting the knife slide out of his hands and turned away from the girls. "Help Ishiko-chan with her…friend." It took the man all his control to not call Dariru something degrading. He had to win back Ishiko's favor if he wanted to get her to learn how to love both sides of him. He stumbled away from the scene, still feeling weak from his sister's confession about her feelings towards him.

He had to find a new place for them to stay immediately. He couldn't let his plans be foiled before the project truly began.

--

It was the pain in her back that made Dariru conscious once more, but she refused to open her eyelids. She wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep again and maybe even stay that way; but the throbbing pain and the softness of Ishiko's voice was what urged her to open her eyes. Ishiko was sitting next to her with a worried look on her face. Standing behind her was Itachi, but neither girl paid him any attention.

Dariru stared at Ishiko and felt tears build up at the sight of her smile. "Ishiko-chan…I'm sorry." The pregnant girl tried to calm her with a quiet "shush" noise, but Dariru ignored it. "No. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry! I-I-I thought it was Kisame! I thought…" tears rolled down her cheeks and the girl couldn't help but break down and cry. She had slept with her friend's psycho older brother without knowing it. Not only that, but he had disguised himself as her lover! Good lord, what would she do if Kisame ever found out? What would Kisame do if he found out? Would he leave her? The girl couldn't stand the thought of the love of her life leaving her. If he did she was sure she would kill herself.

Ishiko held her crying friend comfortingly, not minding at all that the tears soaked through her kimono. Though it had hurt her to find out Keisuke had slept with her best friend, even though he claimed to love her over everything else, she couldn't help but notice she wasn't surprised by his action. That sort of cruelty just seemed like something the Akatsuki's Keisuke would do. She couldn't blame Dariru for it either; from the way she was crying right now, if Keisuke hadn't disguised himself as Keisuke it would have been extreme rape. She wasn't sure which scenario was better for her friend's mentality: Rape, or thinking she was sleeping with her lover. She wasn't sure which one she thought was best. But either way she was hurt. And Ishiko had to help her. She had an odd feeling they weren't going to get help, and her babies as well as Dariru were definitely not safe here. This was definitely not her beloved Keisuke. And she wasn't sure if she would ever get him back. This one… he killed… he hurt people. He was not the same as he was all those years ago. And despite her hearts' wishes, she will never get that one back. She may have before, but that was way before Keisuke killed Tadashi. Therefore he was purposely hurting people… like Dariru. Dariru had never done anything wrong. Closing her brown eyes and holding Dariru closer, she brushed her hair back.

Blood covered them both, not like Ishiko minded much, as a spy she had learned to deal with the awful coppery smell. Dariru was an emotional wreck; she didn't exactly have time to be worried about such things. Kakuzu and Kisame were definitely coming. Kisame's loved Dariru; that much Ishiko knew. There was no way the blue man would abandon her; surely he would understand. After all, Kisame knew what Keisuke was like. Taking a deep breath, Ishiko patted Dariru's hair down.

"Kisame loves you, Dariru. You have no idea how much he talks about you." Ishiko reassured, as if reading Dariru's feelings. She must nave feeling that same exact feeling of guilt and betrayal, but for Karmas. Darin managed to lookup, looking through her own tears and up at Ishiko's smiling face. Professional spy or not, not even she could put up a full-proof smile as a time like this one. Dariru sniffed, how could her Friend keep up this much of a brave face? Did she always have to do this? Even through a life was in danger, she probably had to put a poker-face on and seen someone everything was okay. And right now, she was that person Ishiko had to tie to.

"Yeah? Like how?" she asked and she felt her friend sigh.

"On a couple of missions, I kept running. I'm a terrible coward you know, and he kept saying… 'My Dariru wouldn't run, she'd face it head-on!'," She chuckled, but Dariru could tell there was a definite falter to her laugh."He thinks of the world about you." Ishiko assured and sighed, pressing her cheek against the top of Dariru's head.

"I don't think he'll let this get in the way between you two."

Itachi took a step forward and mumbled in his quiet voice, "She's right, Dariru-san. He won't leave you for this. But he will try to kill Keisuke for it." The sobbing girl gave them both meek smiles and tried to regain her composure. Though she appreciated their words, she couldn't help but still feel guilty over the whole thing. It just made her hurt in places she didn't know could be hurt with emotional pain. This feeling was the worst kind she had ever experienced; it made her feel like slitting her wrists open the moment Ishiko and Itachi left.

_It'd be an easy way out, _the voice returned, but it sounded as hurt as she felt. _If you die, you won't have to face him. You wouldn't have to tell him what you did with Keisuke. You wouldn't have to tell him anything._

For a moment the girl agreed with the voice; it would be an easy way out. But if she died now, she would never know if Kisame would forgive her or not. She wanted to touch him so badly now, to hear him say that everything was going to be okay. Perhaps she would wait…if he couldn't forgive her, then she would end this pain. And if he did forgive her…well, Dariru couldn't help but smile at what she planned to do to him if he did.

Ishiko turned her head to look at the man behind her. "What does my brother plan to do now?"

The Uchiha was silent for a moment, contemplating on whether he should tell her or not. He took in a breath before saying, "This place won't be safe for him if Kakuzu and Kisame know where it is." The girl nodded, now understanding what he was trying to say. Keisuke was going to move them away from here. But where? She didn't think Itachi knew either, and there was a small chance her brother would tell any of them where the new location would be. He probably wouldn't even give Dariru a chance to perform the whispering bird technique should they relocate. They had to either stall long enough for Kakuzu, Kisame and Tadashi to get here, or they had to run away.

Though the running away option had its many pros and cons, the stalling one had a large flaw too. They had no idea how far away the group was from getting to the temple. Unless…

"Dariru-chan?" Ishiko looked down at the girl, who looked back at her with red puffy eyes. "Do you think you can perform the whispering bird technique one more time?" Dariru closed her eyes for a moment and took deep, meditative breaths even though a few more stray tears found their way out of her eye. When she opened her eyes she shook her head slowly.

"It'll be very brief though. What do I need to ask them?"

Ishiko couldn't help but smile at her friend's willingness to help. However, she looked back at Itachi and gave him a glare. "Will you tell Keisuke what happened?"

The man bowed his head and mumbled, "Tell him what? I'm on perimeter patrol." She huffed slightly before returning her attention to Dariru.

"How much longer until they reach the temple?"

--

Night had fallen on the desert, making the exhausted men push themselves forward with more determination. Tomorrow night they'll be at the temple and getting their two beloveds back. Both Kakuzu and Kisame hoped for their safety and vowed to slaughter Keisuke should he do anything to the girls or the unborn twins. They could start to see the end of the sand and the beginning of grass and foliage.

"Almost there," Tadashi breathed with a smile on his face. "Tomorrow night boys, you'll be reunited with the ladies." Neither man could deny the surge of happiness and excitement that began to bubble up inside of their bodies. They were going to get their loved ones back and they were going to kill the one who took them away in the first place.

Kisame grinned and managed to keep up with Kakuzu with the new found energy. "I can't wait to punch that bastard right in the face. See how pretty he looks when he'd missing his two front teeth."

Kakuzu looked at the blue man and snickered, "You talking about Keisuke?"

"No," he scoffed, "I'm gonna do something completely different to Keisuke-teme. I was talking about punching Itachi for helping Keisuke-teme." The stitched man chuckled light-heartedly at his comment. They may not be able to really kill Keisuke, but they would weaken him enough for Tadashi to make the final blow.

_Kisame, _Dariru's voice breathed weakly in the blue man's head. Though, he didn't notice the weakness, still too caught up in the happiness.

"Dariru! It's so good to hear your voice again," Kisame smiled as he kept moving forward in their travel.

_It's…it's good to hear you too…_The girl took a shaky breath as if she had been crying. The sound made the excitement fade away to concern in the man.

"Dariru, what's wrong? Did something happen to you?" Kakuzu and Tadashi stopped at the question. They both knew that if something had happened to one girl, the other was probably hurt too.

There was a small sniffle before she continued. _I'll tell you later._

"No," The man growled, rage burning through his veins at her confirmation. "Tell me what happened Dariru. What did Keisuke do to you?" There was silence for a long time until he heard her take a sharp breath. When she breathed out he heard her sobs and it made the man wish he could hold her.

_I d-don't have a lot of en-energy left, Kisame. _The girl sniffled again and took more deep breaths. _Do you have any idea when you'll get here?_

"Yeah," he stated simply with a tightened jaw and clenched fists. "We'll be there by tomorrow night."

_Thank you, _she sighed in relief. _I have to go now. I love you…so much. _

"I love you too." And then, the connection was gone. Immediately, the blue man kicked at the sand angrily, snarling at it as if it would scurry away from him. Keisuke had done something to his woman, something so bad that she couldn't control her tears. That bastard was going to pay.

He stormed past the questioning look Kakuzu gave him and ignored Tadashi when he asked, "What's wrong? What happened to them?" His steps turned into an all-out run, anger and adrenaline giving him the strength the go on and ignore the burning pain in his shoulder. They couldn't waste anymore time, not when they were so close.

"Kisame!" Tadashi hollered after him, "Kisame-san, wait! Calm down! You could change my predictions if you keep acting like this!" The blue man halted and turned on the young man, who almost ran into the heaving chest of the fuming man.

"Screw your predictions!" He yelled, making the man shrink back at his sudden attitude. "She wouldn't tell me what happened, but I highly doubt it was something good." Kakuzu gave the man a steady look, keeping his distance from him.

"What about Ishiko?" Kakuzu asked, "Is she alright?"

Kisame shrugged, "I told you, she didn't tell me anything. All she wanted to know was when we would get there. So if we still plan on getting there by tomorrow night, I suggest we shut up and keep moving." He turned on his heels and stormed quickly away from the two baffled men.

--

"Well, what did he say?" Ishiko asked, waiting patiently as her friend wiped away the fresh tears from her cheeks.

She took a breath and answered with a smile, "Tomorrow night. They'll be here by tomorrow night!" Ishiko smiled happily, her every nerve excited at seeing Kakuzu again so soon. They would get out of here soon, and not even Keisuke could stop them from leaving this time.

It pained her heart to know that Keisuke would die soon, but she ignored it. That man wasn't Keisuke anymore; he was someone completely different. Someone she didn't know anymore. He had hurt her friend both physically and mentally on purpose, and she was quite sure he would do the same thing to her unborn twins should the opportunity present itself. She couldn't love a man like that, even if he was her brother.

No, that wasn't her brother. Keisuke had died long ago in front of her young eyes. This person just claimed to be her brother to get to her. Keisuke was dead and has been dead for a long time…he was dead. Just like Kakuzu kept telling her every time she believed him to be alive. If only she had listened…

--

Keisuke stared at the map before him in silence. There were no clay servants anywhere inside the temple tonight, nor would they be in the temple again tomorrow or the next day. Those three men were on their way, and he couldn't take any chances; so he had sent the clay servants to stand guard outside and to kill anyone who approached. Sure they weren't skilled fighters, they were nothing more than mindless beings, but they would be able to give them enough time to leave the temple. But where would they go?

They could always take refuge with Orochimaru and his followers; but even Keisuke wasn't sure if that man was still alive. But he wasn't sure of any other place they could go. Ishiko knew all of their safe hideouts, but she didn't know anything about Orochimaru's country. If he planned on keeping her by his side forever, he needed to take her out of the home-field advantage. And knowing the snake-man, he moved locations every month or so, which would keep Ishiko confused and hopeless of escape. Not to mention the Akatsuki tried to avoid all contact with Orochimaru, so perhaps Pein would even forbid Kakuzu and Kisame from their pursuit.

It was perfect!

The man grinned and let his body fall on the bed, immediately missing the presence of his little sister. But that feeling would pass over time the more she began to warm up to his new side. Soon she would be all over him as if he were a drug that she couldn't live without.

* * *

I felt so emotional when reading what Blood Thirsty Me wrote.


	49. Chapter 49

So sorry for the long wait, Blood Thirsty Me's computer broke down and so its slow and me with my annoying exams that went on.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Nine

"Ishiko-chan." Dariru murmured and Ishiko turned to look at her, despite her own pain in her abdomen and heart, she was assisting Dariru back into a sitting room of sorts, lavished with wide paintings and couches of all sorts, most fashionably arranged. Dariru had an apologetic look, even though Ishiko couldn't think of one thing she could possibly be sorry for. She didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't like she slept with another man even though she was pregnant with a child of another… She was under a genjutsu. Ishiko had to shrug the thought off.

"Yes?" Ishiko answered, wincing slightly from her stomach, but she still didn't really trust Itachi to help out Dariru either.

"I'm sorry." Dariru said weakly and Ishiko looked at her, baffled.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Dariru-chan. If anything, you should be honored. You took the blame for me, my babies and I are thankful." Ishiko assured but Dariru stopped her by shaking her head. Ishiko tried to distract her by looking forward to see where they were going.

"About Keisuke. I'm sorry. I know he's your brother, and you still have a sibling love for him-"

"Keisuke is dead. I just never accepted it. All we had was each other you know?" Ishiko laughed and looked at Dariru with all the control and composure she could muster. Dariru frowned at her friend in denial. _I know her brother might be a complete traitorous asshole, but he's still her brother. If I had a brother, it might be hard for me too. _She thought regretfully to herself.

"We… we had a special bond only we could have for each other. Our Mother… she was a loose-cannon. He would protect me sometimes, stop her even. When he died… I didn't want to believe it, though I was told it was murder. But he did die. The Keisuke now… he's not… my brother." Dariru's frown grew deeper and she looked to the floor and glancing over at the bulge that was Ishiko's belly. A smile returned to her face.

"Hey... you're finally showing." Dariru said lightly, making Ishiko look over at her with slight surprise and she smiled back softly.

"Yeah." She breathed.

"It's about time huh?" Ishiko chuckled again. One thing Dariru was sure the twins would love about their mother, even in the worst of times, Ishiko could fool anybody. They would have a strong mother. But then Kisame's words returned to her. Ishiko would die in labor? Dariru couldn't stand the thought. Ishiko was the sister Dariru never had. They loved each other that way. But the knowledge Ishiko would die… it was putting an extra strain on her emotions. She didn't want to lose anybody she loved. She knew if she lost Kisame… it was too devastating to think about… and Ishiko… The world definitely would be a darker place.

---

Tadashi hurried, glancing back at the two older men.

"We've got to think like Keisuke, you say Dariru sounded… urgent and weak?" Tadashi asked, and Kisame grunted before answering.

"Yeah, I think we should really get there by tomorrow night." Kisame suggested. Kakuzu had no objections, and he stayed silent, merely quickening in his steps. The tan man must have been really edgy from not hearing any word of Ishiko except she was fine. But Kisame knew Dariru, if anyone needed any help she would help them. She was just so kind it was almost unbelievable she was a kunoichi. A career that required ruthless skill. But Tadashi scoffed in annoyance, looking over at Kisame with narrowed eyes and an upturned smile.

"If you feel that way then let me skip my nap. I can always predict more things when we kill Keisuke. Besides, knowing him, he might move them if we're not fast enough." Tadashi stated. Kakuzu looked at him accusingly.

"You knew he might move?" Kakuzu accused, angry that Tadashi had been keeping such information withheld while they were wasting time resting but Tadashi panted and popped a soldier pill before continuing.

"I knew he might if he knew we were coming, Dariru asked how long we were going to take right?" Tadashi asked, craning his neck to see the fish man nod.

"Then we have to assume she's asking that so she knows what to expect, how long she has to stall. I have a feeling Keisuke either knows, or he's at least suspicious and Dariru is planning around it." Tadashi said carefully. A small grumble came from Kakuzu. It would just put a damper on their spirits if they arrived at the temple to find nobody there. But if they kept moving they would surely reach it on time, especially since the girls knew when they would be arriving. They could stall for as long as they needed to, and since Keisuke as their captor, it wouldn't be hard for Ishiko to buy them more time. Though, the thought made the man stiffen with jealousy. He just prayed the two could hold out until they arrived.

"Then let's keep moving," Kakuzu clapped his hands together to get the young man's attention. "Give me one of those military pills. Give one to Kisame too." Tadashi dug through his pocket and tossed a little red pill at Kakuzu and Kisame. Both men popped the supplement without hesitation and felt the effects immediately. Any pain was numbed down to a barely noticeable throbbing and their energy levels increased. The trio was able to move considerably faster with the help of the pills and their need to be reunited with their loved ones.

--

Dariru stared at her hand as Ishiko stroked her bulging belly softly. The two had been sitting in the lounge for a few hours, unsure of what to talk about after the day's events. What was there to talk about that wouldn't put either of them in deeper trouble with their captor? They wanted to discuss how they would help in the battle with Keisuke, but no one could really plan out a fight like that. Anything could happen, and they couldn't predict every possible outcome.

Footsteps approaching made both girls freeze and turn their heads. Keisuke was approaching them with a smile on his face and hands behind his back. Ishiko stood up the instant she saw him and began to help her friend, who was wincing from the pain the cuts and back caused. Both girls stood next to each other defensively; Ishiko's hand was over her stomach protectively while Dariru's hovered over a pocket where a kunai rested. The boy paused a few feet away from the cautious females with a surprised look on his face.

"Why so edgy?" He asked innocently as his hand traced the back of a couch. "I'm not going to harm you." A sarcastic scoff came from Dariru at his comment and the man shot her a quick glare.

"What do you want?" Ishiko growled, keeping her hand over her belly. Was he here to finish them off?

Keisuke gave her a hurt look, "I don't want anything little sister. I just came here to tell you that we'll be leaving soon." At the sudden news, the girls' hearts sank. If they were leaving, that meant Kakuzu and Kisame were going to be wasting energy.

"Where are we going?" Ishiko tried, knowing it was a waste of breath.

An amused chuckle rumbled from his throat. "If I told you, then your little bodyguard would just tell her freak of a lover." Dariru felt her eye twitch and she would have lunged at the man had Ishiko not grabbed her shoulder. Keisuke smiled, "We'll leave when I'm ready to go. And don't try telling anybody about this. Otherwise, I just may have to slip a sedative into your food and drink."

Keisuke's voice was so threatening and dead serious, Ishiko's own heart couldn't help but feel a small wave of panic come over her and she backed up slightly, but keeping a firm grip on Dariru. Keisuke noticed the small action and his smile disappeared like he had never smiled in his life. He didn't say anything about it but his brown eyes flickered over to Dariru for a moment before turning away.

"I will send for you when you are done, if you hid any bombs in my things… Ishi-koi, feel free to tell me now, I might think of forgiving you, but if I find any traps…" He drifted; stopping and turning to look at his sister. Ishiko only lowered her head, stepping closer to Dariru and looking away from him, glancing worriedly at her hurt friend. Keisuke could feel his nose twitch in irritation but he decided to keep his composure. The perfect… leveled… brother Ishiko had loved those years ago before he died. He simply swallowed hard and turned again, keeping quiet and walked out of the sitting room. But before he exited he turned his pretty little head and glared specifically at Dariru.

"I'd watch myself, Dariru-san. The last bodyguard Ishiko owned was killed by my hands." He grinned wickedly at her, twisting the knife and Dariru's eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat. The pressure on her throat returned and her knees felt weak. Was this some genjutsu? It had to be. There was no other way Keisuke could strike this much fear into her heart, but the reassuring grip on her shoulder from Ishiko assured her more than anything everything was real. The pain in her heart and the fear in her stomach was all real, and as factual as the sky was blue.

"Obviously not if he's on his way." Ishiko stated, placing herself right by Dariru's side. Equal. Keisuke didn't respond, but he kept his eyes trained on Dariru, Ishiko countered by grabbing Dariru's head and placed it close to her beating heart.

"_Listen Keisuke-kun!" Ishiko cried, as if she was discovering something. Her older brother smiled down at her; his long hair falling over his shoulders, neglecting to use the ponytail holders his Mother had given him only days before. _

"_What is it? Ishiko-chan?" Keisuke question, Ishiko held up her arms, and Keisuke obeyed her physical wishes, picking her up and placing her in his lap. Of course he was supposed to be studying, but right now, he didn't really care. His sister had something to present him, or show him –whatever-, and it required his attention. So it he was going to give it to her, no matter what. Ishiko laughed and grabbed Keisuke's head, pulling it towards her tiny body. His ears detected a faint, beating noise, no doubt her tiny heart. He smiled faintly, carefully keeping her steady and pulled away, seeing the amazement in her eyes. _

"_It's my heart! My heart beats so loud sometimes!" Ishiko said loudly, raising her hands in excitement, but Keisuke quickly grabbed them and pushed them back down to her sides, silencing her. His stare was so cold and serious. _

"_Mother is asleep. We do not want to wake her, she might be grumpy." _

Keisuke stayed silent for a while, but then he dismissed the action and turned again, closing the door behind him. It was taking a lot of his self-control to not go off on the girl again. He felt the chocolate color leak from his eyes and the green erupt again. He winced slightly, Orochimaru might have been a genius but his jutsu was so faulty. He covered one of his eyes and continued, swiftly grabbing a skeleton key from his kimono pocket and locked the door carefully.

"You're locking them in." Keisuke felt himself smile at Itachi's questioning voice. He turned, his green eyes still showing and Itachi even seemed to be a little alarmed by it.

"Yes, make sure perimeter is still secure, I will be off packing," He sighed thoughtfully and brought his hand back down. "It's a shame, I really wanted Ishi-chan to give birth in this temple, and we made so many memories in this place." He waved the thought off and started walking, Itachi following close to him.

"I'm afraid I will have to leave your company if we go to one of Orochimaru's hideouts." Itachi said in defiance, Keisuke didn't glance at him, but his lips upturned in a smirk.

"I know. But if we do go to one, then Kakuzu and Kisame definitely wouldn't be able to follow either. Anyway, keep a perimeter up, I guess we'll rush the procedure and then leave. Idiots can't see past a genjutsu can they? Tadashi is our real worry, but it's not like I haven't handled him before." Keisuke smiled grimly. Itachi nodded obediently, even though Keisuke couldn't see it; and he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Keisuke sighed, running a hand through his hair and continued walking through the hallways. So many great memories. Had he really changed that much? It was not love. Ishiko didn't accept his whole being, she didn't love him the way he was now. That was love. If Ishiko changed, he would still love her. He would love her no matter what, in life and in death. But that didn't seem to be the case with him. She was still in love with the eighteen-year old him. He was twenty-six now.

---

Ishiko let her breath go as soon as the door closed and she plopped down into a couch next to Dariru. That was close, for a split second she really thought he was going to attack. His eyes were so cold and his face was so solemn, her Keisuke never wore that sort of face, he was always warm and comforting. Dariru stood still, leaning on the couch arm for support Ishiko couldn't provide earlier.

"Thanks…" Dariru said quickly, panting. She didn't even realize she was holding her breathe the whole time. Ishiko glanced over, rubbing her stomach but shifted her eyes away.

"Don't thank me. I didn't do anything compared of what you did for me." Ishiko said back, waving a hand but taking a deep breath to relieve the pain she was in. But she smiled, realizing what it was.

"Dariru." Ishiko called urgently and Dariru looked at her immediately, worried she was having another episode but Ishiko straightened herself and held out her hand, calling the short-haired girl towards her.

"What is it Ishiko-chan? Are you in pain?" Dariru asked and the spy shook her head, grabbing her hand and placing it low on her stomach. Smiling brightly, she kept moving Dariru's hand to where she kept feeling the pain.

"They're kicking. They're really strong… like their Daddy." Ishiko took in shallow breathes as Dariru could feel the small bumps on Ishiko's belly. Dariru looked up and exchanged small smiles and Dariru looked down again in awe at the small movements she felt. They were strong. But she looked up to see Ishiko wincing silently every time and she felt herself frown. They were really hurting Ishiko from the inside. Even though they might not mean to, but they were ripping her up from the inside. Ishiko finally took notice and stopped, smiling kindly, but even she couldn't hide the slight twitching of the eye when another kick came.

"It's fine. I'm fine." Ishiko tilted her head, but from the stare Dariru was giving her, her friend did not believe her either. Ishiko pressed her lips into a tight line and shifted away, "If you can't fool me how do you expect to fool Kakuzu?" Dariru called her out softly. Ishiko released a soft breathe, closing her eyes. That was true. Kakuzu was worried enough as it is, there was no way he was going to stand it if she was in so much pain.

"I'll heal. Kakuzu doesn't want to admit it but he wants these kids, so I'll make sure he gets them." Ishiko stood up, waddling over to another couch but looked back at Dariru, a little scornfully.

"One day you'll understand." She added, and Dariru felt it pierce her heart. How could Ishiko say that? 'I'll heal'. Ishiko really didn't have any confidence in her life. How could anybody accept what she was going through? Ishiko had this disease… though she didn't know much about it, it seemed grim enough from what she could tell. Dariru stood up defiantly.

"You think you're in control? You think… if you just give up and die while giving birth that you somehow win? That… you're in control of when you die?" Ishiko stopped in her tracks, listening. But Dariru continued, "You're just fooling yourself Ishiko-chan! Why are you doing this to yourself?" Dariru demanded, her voice exhausted and tired. Ishiko didn't look at her, but sat down, sighing and running a hand through her hair, but stopping to glance over to the door.

"He locked us in; we'll have to find another way to stall." She completely ignored everything Dariru said and got up, moving her tan hands across the cool gold surface.

"Ishiko-chan, are you even listening?" Maybe she was a little too hard. Maybe she was just a little too rough on her, Ishiko already knew she was going to die, Dariru –her trusted friend- didn't have to rub it in her face about it. Ishiko ignored her again, moving past her and grabbing items. Dariru decided to give up and leave Ishiko alone for now. Ishiko would know what to do better than her. Dariru knew Keisuke was an Akatsuki, or at least used to be a spy like Ishiko. Dariru plopped on the couch and watched as Ishiko went to work making some sort of bomb.

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Reviews are much appreciated. And don't worry more chapters are coming real soon.


	50. Chapter 50

I'm sooo tired. I'm having a small fight with some friends, apparently my other friend pissed them off so now they're punishing me for it. Anyway omg I got these ceeeuuuuute shoes today! I got these adorable lime-green high-heels and then I got these dark ruby flats with a little emblem on them and I love them both. I've just been having a girly-day.

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Chapter 50

The sun began to set, the last of its red rays made the leaves glow as if on fire. The lighting made the sky appear to be in ablaze too as various shades of red, orange and yellow were splashed across the vastness, as if it would swallow the approaching blackness of the night. There were very little clouds hovering above, and whoever looked up would know it would be a cold night. However, the three figures that darted through the warm-colored forest paid no attention to the sky that was hidden through the layers of leaves. Though two were injured and one was perfectly healthy, they pressed forward; anxiousness driving all three to push their tired and aching bodies to the limit.

So close. They were so close to reaching the Ishibi Temple where four of their loved ones were held. But it may not be long until they were moved to a more secluded area. They couldn't take that chance; they had to get to the temple before their reasons for living were shoved in a new hiding spot.

The one that was leading the way stopped suddenly and stared at a parting in the treetops in awe and victory. The other two stopped next to him and gave him confused stares.

"What's wrong?" Kakuzu asked.

Tadashi lifted his arm and pointed at the parting. "Look!" He whispered, unable to contain the joy that was tangled in his voice. Both men looked up and at first saw nothing against the darkening sky. Then, they saw it: the tip of an extravagant building that was only a few more miles ahead.

Kakuzu felt his breath slow and his hearts race with excitement. "The Ishibi Temple …" he breathed as his mind wrapped around the fact that he would see his Ishiko soon. Kisame let out a chuckle and didn't even try to suppress the smile that appeared on his blue face.

"Only a few more miles," Tadashi explained before walking forward, giving the two men time to recollect themselves. "But keep on your toes. The closer we get, the more likely we'll run into traps or genjutsu."

Kisame was the first the follow the young man again, leaving Kakuzu behind. The stitched man just stared at the temple's tip as if he were at the building already. He had let Keisuke take her from his grasp once, and he would be damned if he let the treacherous boy do it again. "I'm coming Ishiko," he murmured before going after his companions.

The sun fell lower and lower behind the horizon as time passed, making the forest darker and more suspicious than before. The three still kept a fast pace, but they were more aware of what their feet landed on, where an owl's hoot came from, and even the small rustle of bushes as small gusts of wind made its way through the collection of foliage. They couldn't risk being attacked or become immobile, not when they were so close to reaching their goal. The trees seemed to dwindle in number and the landscape started to go uphill. Only a couple more miles and they will reach their goal.

"Ka…ku…zu…"

The ragged voice was so faint that the stitched man didn't even hear it the first time. But the second time it called out to him, he recognized the voice immediately.

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked about the dark forest. "Ishiko?" There was no reply for a while, and it made the man think it was just the wind.

"Ka…ku…zu…" The voice of his lover strained out louder, followed by a pained cough. The man darted in the direction the sound was coming from; all of his hearts pounding wildly as her voice seemed to be getting closer.

"Ishiko!" He called out, hoping she would hear him. "Ishiko! Where are you!?" The moment his feet landed firmly on the ground, after leaping over a bush, he saw her huddled on the ground like an animal that had been shot. Panic was the first thing he felt as he watched her chest rise slowly every time she breathed. He darted and knelt down, finally noticing the small puddle of blood she was laying in. Anger and fear shot through his veins at the sight of his injured lover, cursing Keisuke beneath his breath.

"Ka…ku…zu…" Ishiko managed to say, drawing his attention back to her.

He grabbed her hand gently, not wanting to inflict any more pain than she was feeling already. "I'm here." He mumbled before hovering over and touching their foreheads together lightly. "I'm here, Ishiko. It's going to be okay." The blood looked like a black blotch against the dark ground as it seeped further out from beneath her. "Where…where are you injured?"

The girl glanced down at her stomach, "Kei…suke. Got…got mad at…at me a-and D-Dariru-chan." Her breathing began to come in shorter gasps and her blinking eyes would stay closed for longer periods of time. He stroked the side of her face to try to keep her awake; he couldn't lose her. Not again. Not when she was carrying two other lives inside of her.

"What else Ishiko? What else did he do?" Kakuzu spoke loudly, hoping it would help keep her conscious.

"He…g-gutted them," her voice cracked with the sobbing noise that was caught in her throat. Every fiber in his body froze except for the painful beating of Ishiko's heart.

"Gutted? Gutted who?" The man knew the answer, but he was hoping she would tell him something else; something that would shoot down his fears.

"Keisuke…gutted our…b-babies."

The whole world crashed, and for a moment he couldn't support himself on his own arms. His eyes locked onto the blood that poured out of his lover's body and noticed that it had left a trail. Unwillingly his eyes followed the trail back to small underbrush. He almost vomited when he saw two pairs of slightly undeveloped hands poking lifelessly out from their hiding place. Breathing seemed to be a chore, even as he ripped the mask and hood off to allow himself deeper and fresher breaths. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be! They had been so close! _So close_ to saving them, and now his unborn children were dead and his lover was dying beneath him. It was wrong, all wrong!

Everything was shaking from the impact of the moment. But Ishiko's heart kept pounding hard against the chest cavity as if in protest to the whole situation. He gripped the spot where it hurt the most and pulled Ishiko's barely living body closer to him. How could he save her? _Could_ he save her this time?

"Ka…ku…zu…" She breathed. He didn't even notice her hand reach into his pocket and begin to pull out a kunai knife. "Ka…ku…zu…"

"KAKUZU!" Tadashi screamed before kicking the man off of the bleeding girl. The older man shook his head and looked up in time to see Ishiko stand and charge at the newcomer with a knife. He evaded the attack quickly just as Kisame went rushing to Kakuzu's side.

"Be still," the blue man commanded just as Tadashi kicked out at Ishiko's head with a powerful kick.

"NO!" Kakuzu bellowed as he felt a surge of chakra, provided by Kisame, pulsed through his body. The girl's head flew off as her features blew away like dust to reveal a clay person. The faceless head made a thumping noise when it hit the ground as its body fell lifelessly.

Kakuzu sat there, dumfounded at what had just happened. _Genjutsu…_he mumbled to himself as his head turned to where he had seen the baby hands. Their deformed and bloody features were no longer there, and neither was the pool of blood that the illusion had created. None of it had been real. Ishiko was still alive. He let out shaky breaths as his muscles relaxed and the insistent pounding of his lover's heart became less violent. He still had a chance to save her.

Tadashi looked at him and motioned towards the temple, "Let's keep moving. And keep your chakra levels up." The young man disappeared in the darkness in a few quick strides. Kisame offered to help the stitched man up, and for once, he didn't object. That illusion was so painful he was still experiencing the aftershock of it. He just hoped they would arrive on time before it could become a reality.

--

Ishiko worked swiftly, her hands glided over vases and she tore down curtains that must have been worth a fortune. Dariru offered to help many times, but Ishiko dejected the idea every time. Dariru decided to sit this one out. She had no idea how to make bombs, so there was no way she could help Ishiko out with this one. Ishiko carried the curtains and threw them in a large pile and Dariru took the chance to look out. She could easily break through a window; she glanced at Ishiko once more before turning and charging her foot with chakra.

"I wouldn't if I were you. Take a look before you kick." Ishiko mumbled loudly, her voice oddly cold and monotonous. Dariru looked at her for a second, taking in her words and looked up higher, staring at two seals stuck to the glass.

"This place was built nicely, but remember; this was meant for the Tsuwa family to stay in an emergency. Nothing gets in and nothing gets out unless the head Tsuwa wills it to, which is Keisuke since he called up the servants." Ishiko said glumly and continued to work on her bomb. Dariru glanced back at the glass.

"There has to be a way…" Dariru murmured to herself. Ishiko ignored her once more, reaching over to grab a pen she had gathered and made some sign on a scroll. There had to be another way out, an easier way out. God knows how much time they had until they would be moved or until Keisuke was finished in his packing process. Dariru glanced to the side, taking in every detail of the room as she possibly could. Head Tsuwa? Couldn't Ishiko qualify as the too? But she guessed since Keisuke was the one who conjured up the clay servants that that rendered Ishiko helpless when it came to control and power. She hated waiting like this, she felt like she was some dog waiting to be put down. She ran to the opposite side of the room, taking a kunai and one of Ishiko's snatched curtains, ripping a long strand after long strand. Ishiko watched, somewhat surprised by her actions as Dariru started to tie the ends together.

"I know you may have given up, Ishiko-chan, but I know you want to see Kakuzu again, and I know you really don't want to die." Dariru took a tall standing coat hanger and broke it against her thigh, grunting in the process.

Ishiko's eyes flashed in worry but Dariru, despite her aching back and neck, wrapped the strands of curtain and tying it around the metal coat hanger end, then she started swinging it like a hook-claw. Ishiko stood up, staring intensely over at the seals.

"Dariru! You'll just hurt yourself!" Ishiko scolded, trying to put all if her anger into the sentence, but to Dariru, she could simply find none. Dariru glanced back at her, face full of determination and frustration.

"At least I'm trying to get out."

--

Tadashi glanced back, eyes narrowed at the still seemingly spooked Kakuzu. Keisuke was definitely strong, but he knew Ishiko's brother couldn't cast a genjutsu that strong unless he was talking. It must have been Itachi. And those servants… Keisuke was definitely making his claim as the head of what was left of the once mighty Tsuwa clan. Tadashi knew Keisuke always had issues with letting go of things, but his ego was much too big for his amount of power. He was such a sore loser. That fact made a change in his plans, Keisuke wasn't the type to play fair, ever, and Keisuke had a cunning use of playing dirty and finding odd loopholes in deals. But this was too much. Even though he couldn't see it, it was so cruel to use Ishiko's form in a genjutsu. Call it list, or over-affection, but anger rose in his chest.

"This is sort of a good sign. Keisuke knows if he runs now we can easily interfere, we basically just cornered him, and he knows it. That illusion was a powerful one, but I think that was Itachi rather than Keisuke." Tadashi stated; keeping his eyes locked on the Ishibi Temple.

"_Tadashi-kun, do you know what today is?" His mother asked; her hands on her thighs as she sat against the wall, seemingly ignoring the live servants passing in and out of a medical room with bloodied blankets and a screaming woman was inside. Tadashi looked up at his mother with pained eyes, still sore from his marking. The searing hot metal felt like it was still there, even wrapped under all the gauze. _

"_Somebody's being born." Tadashi said softly and his mother smiled in recognition, patting his head affectionately. _

"_Your new owner, Tadashi-kun." Tadashi knew this would happen eventually. Ever since he was born he knew his purpose was to be owned and enslaved. Even his own Mother was owned as a bodyguard, and it seemed only fit that he would one day be branded. But even he hasn't seen whose name has been branded onto his body. _

"_What's his name?" Tadashi asked, shifting his eyes over to the delivery room where another little boy, maybe a little younger than himself sat and waited patiently. No...His new owner wasn't him. His Mother chuckled, hiding her mouth behind a gloved hand. _

"_It's a she, according to Lord Takari." Tadashi looked up at his Mother in amazement. _

"_A girl? I'm going to be owned by a girl? What's her name?" Suddenly the delivery room, full of screams and grunts became much more interesting and less scary. His Mother laughed loudly echoing against the walls of the large golden temple gaining the attention from the other brown-haired little boy from across the doorway but she didn't seem to see. _

"_Her name will be Ishiko." _

That seemed so long ago. And when he first saw the little baby Ishiko, the meaning for his existence, he fell in love with her at first sight. But now his little love found a love of her own, and that was okay. As long as she was happy and content, he was more than willing to watch her smile from the shadows. Keisuke, however didn't seem to share that feeling. He was selfish and uncaring for her feelings. That's why he needed to help this time. Kakuzu and Ishiko must reunite, and Dariru must be kept alive. For the sake of Ishiko's children, the future kings and the new ninja revolution.

"We're almost there." Tadashi whispered, whipping out a kunai and throwing it in the face of a clay servant.

"This is child play, Keisuke must not have expected us to get this far." He said to the other two men. At that moment, a sound louder and more violent than thunder tore through the silent air. All three men stopped, thinking one of them had set off the bomb. When neither of them appeared to be blown to pieces or hurt, their attention turned to the sky where a large cloud of smoke rose into the sky.

Tadashi's heart stopped as his mind told him where the explosion came from. "Good lord…" he breathed, eyes never leaving the rising black cloud, "that came from the temple…"

--

Ishiko coughed as she cradled the home-made bomb close to her chest, her back resting against the back of a couch. The explosion came from the seals on the window the moment Dariru's hook began to peel it off. This temple's defenses were more extreme than she thought; even she wasn't expecting it to explode. The only hint that told her to take cover was the sudden hissing noise and the smell of burning paper. However, hadn't seen her friend take cover to protect herself from debris and broken glass.

Very slowly, Ishiko stood up and mumbled, "Dariru? Are you okay?" Suddenly, someone's hand clasped around her wrist, making the girl gasp. She was silent when she saw her friend, sporting a few new bleeding cuts.

"C'mon. We're getting out of here before Keisuke finds us." Dariru announced, pulling the girl with her as she began to walk hurriedly towards the shattered window. Ishiko gripped the finished bomb tightly, afraid of letting it go as they jumped out of the temple and onto the cool grass. Neither of them looked back as they kept running downhill. They couldn't look back now; they had to focus on getting away from Keisuke and that wretched temple. Hopefully, they would run into a friendly face on the way.

--

The moment he heard the explosion, Keisuke abandoned what he was doing and ran straight for the sitting room. Had Ishiko created a bomb and set it off? Or did he mutt break the glass? Either way, his Ishiko could be hurt or even escaping right now; and he couldn't let either possibility happen. His hands fished frantically around the kimono, trying to find the key to unlock the door. When he did, he shoved the key into the hole and unlocked the door, pushing the extravagant slab of wood open hurriedly.

A rush of cool night air hit his face as he stared at what lay before him. One of the windows was completely void of glass and shards of broken furniture and glass littered the once luxurious room. But he one thing he took heed of was the fact that neither girl was anywhere in the room. Both of them had escaped.

Keisuke was unable to hold back the furious scream that erupted from his throat. He knew they had heard him, but he didn't care. He was going to get both of them back, even if it meant killing one and severally injuring the other.

* * *

Ishiko's having twins in case you didn't know. I actually wanted Ishiko to be pregnant in 'Child Play', but I didn't have the heart to make her that mary-sue. Anyway I have a secret dream to have twins no matter what and so since Ishiko is my personal favorite OC I needed her to have twins too. LOL.


	51. Chapter 51

Whoo-hoo!

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Chapter 51

"Did you really think I'd let someone else bite you?"

Dariru couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face, even though her lover was doing his best to push the beast away. It was just such a relief to see him again, though it would have been nice if the situation weren't so dire. There was nothing she wanted more right now than to just hold him tightly and never let go. To breathe in the scent she had only dreamt about for the past week, and to feel the familiar rough calluses on his hands from wielding Samehada for years was something she wanted to do so desperately. She just wanted to be reminded that this really _was_ her Kisame; not just some illusion. But the frustrated snarl of the monstrous Keisuke and the sickening gurgling noise of the black drool seeping onto the grass reminded her that reminiscing would have to wait.

The beast snarled once more before shoving more of his weight onto the sword, ignoring the pain that came from the pointed scales when they punctured his tongue or gums. The sudden push of weight made Kisame's bad shoulder crack and pop with pain, making him let out an uncomfortable cry. Dariru scrambled from behind her blue lover, pulling out her last kunai. She stalked around the red monster, as he positioned himself completely over Kisame, who was now on his back; Samehada was the only thing keeping the white fangs from snapping at his throat. The girl stabbed the knife deep in-between two ribs and dragged it downward, ripping open layers of skin and muscles to let loose a heavy stream of blood.

Even though the wound healed just seconds after it was created, Keisuke reared his head and let out a pained screech. The monster turned and roared furiously before lunging at her with open jaws. She backed away and heard the powerful jaws snap shut, but didn't expect his bony hand to strike. The back of his hand hit her with the force of what felt like then punches, sending her across the forest landscape only to smack her back against an oak tree. She slumped to the ground and coughed, tasting the familiar blood on her tongue. Though she wanted to get up, her body refused as if there was no deformed and enraged monster that wanted nothing more than to snap her in two.

She lifted her head in time to see Kisame lift the sword and drag it across Keisuke's flank. He snarled in shock and tried to lunge at the injured man, but his muzzle was just pushed away forcefully by a kick. Kisame circled the creature, stopping only when his body was between it and Dariru. The girl wanted to get up, to stand by his side and help, but her body was just not ready for it. _Get up, _she snarled to herself, _Get up! Get up! Get up! _By the time she was in a sitting position, the two males were having a bit of a stare-down.

More of the black liquid seeped from the creases of Keisuke's mouth as his mismatched eyes glared cautiously at the man before him. Claws scrapped at the soil in thought as Kisame readied himself for another lunge or a swipe of the tail. However, the monster did neither; instead, he raked his clawed hands against the ground and threw chunks of earth at the man's face. Kisame lifted his good arm and spat out a chunk of dirt as more chunks crashed harmlessly against his body. When the barrage of soil stopped, the man lowered his arm slowly and was confused at what he saw, or better yet, at what he didn't see. The red monster was gone.

The blue man looked around him suspiciously as if the creature would leap out of the shadows. "Where'd he go?" He asked aloud, hoping Dariru had seen where it had gone as he made his way to her.

"He ran off towards Ishiko-chan," the girl grunted as her hands clawed at the tree bark for help, trying to pull herself to her feet. Kisame went to her and tried to push her back down gently, but she shrugged him away. "We have to go after him. He can't get to Ishiko first." She tried to move forward, but the man pushed her against the tree.

"We'll take care of it," he said sternly as he finally recognized the bright purple bruise on her cheek and the fresh cuts on her body. It made him wish he had caught up with Keisuke so he could cave the boy's skull-in. "_You_ need to take a break."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Take a break, _where_? This entire forest is dangerous, and with Keisuke running around in that form, no one can risk stopping."

Kisame paused for a moment before shaking his head. Surely he had heard that wrong? "What form? What are you talking about?"

"That monster you saved me from was Keisuke." She stated plainly. The comment took the man by surprise; he had no idea Keisuke had another form like that. It sent uncomfortable shivers through his body as he remembered the beast's mismatched eyes. The acid-green he didn't recognize, but the brown one…now that he thought about it, the eye had definitely belonged to the psycho older brother. Keisuke was a tough opponent as a human; how much stronger had he gotten by romping around in that form?

"Besides," Dariru sighed, pushing herself from the tree and stumbled on her own feet before regaining balance. "He doesn't seem to like me very much. We could use that to our advantage if he manages to capture Ishiko-chan." He watched her take cautious steps as if unsure of what may happen. The back of her shirt had long, dry blood stains as if someone had dragged her across sharp objects. He clenched his fists at the scenario that played in his head. Though he really hoped he wouldn't need to use Samehada to its full use – t he last thing he wanted was for Dariru to see him like _that_ – he would if he had to.

Though he wished his lover had been uninjured, he was glad she was alive. Kisame sheathed Samehada and walked up behind her before pulling her into him with his good arm. A little voice told him that now was not the time for a cuddle-session, but he ignored it when he breathed in his lover's familiar scent. His hand could feel he smoothness of her exposed pale stomach where the shirt was torn. It made him wish they weren't in such a rush. "I've missed you," he murmured, rubbing the side of his face against the top of her head.

Her tiny hand rested over his, and he thought he could feel her shaking beneath him. "I've missed you too," she squeezed his hand for a moment before prying it from her body. "But we need to catch up to Keisuke before he gets Ishiko-chan." Just as they were about to take off after the monster, Tadashi and Kakuzu caught up to them.

"Why the hell did you run off like that?" Tadashi breathed, shooting the blue man a scolding glare.

A small huff came from Kisame as he gestured to the short-haired girl, "If I hadn't, Dariru could be dead by now."

Tadashi shrugged, missing the confused stare the girl was giving him. "Who's he?" She asked.

Kakuzu answered before the young man could. "We'll do introductions later. Now, where's Ishiko?" The girl paused for a moment before pointing downhill.

"She ran that way and Keisuke went after her." Tadashi looked a little disappointed he wasn't introduced as Ishiko's property, but then again, he might as well go and take out Keisuke first. Kakuzu looked at the two, scanning over Dariru's injuries. That must have been caused by Keisuke's other form. He turned to the direction Dariru pointed and glanced back momentarily, gesturing for Tadashi to follow and gave a thankful look to Dariru.

---

Ishiko panted, her head starting to get dizzy and she stopped, leaning on a large bamboo tree and she slunk to the ground, holding her stomach. She leaned her head back, slowly opening her eyes. This was getting way too hard, way too hard. She wished she could just disappear for a second, a minute even. She let out a shallow, deep breathe, feeling the familiar kicking of her strong twins in her womb. They would cause bruises if her health kept declining like this. She blinked and she wondered where Dariru was.* She looked around. Wasn't she right behind her? Panic rising in her chest she stood up again, ignoring her own pain, the fear of the fact Keisuke might have gotten to Dariru racked through her bones. She looked past the darkness of the trees and grunted from the pain.

"Dariru-chan!" She called lightly, and a low grumbling came from behind her. She turned quickly, pressing her back against the hard bamboo. Her eyes settled on a monstrous figure, and a tar-like substance gurgling from its mouth, a familiar yellow kimono held its place around his waist; torn and dirtied by mud and blood. She was already tired of being scared, terrified. But her eyes locked with the creatures, and it let out a long sigh, regurgitating more tar-like liquid. It seemed to have calmed.

"Dooon't….. Ruuun awayyy from meeee…." It whined, like an injured dog. It walked closer, its eyes drowsy and its long claws dragged across the dirt. It was swaying from side to side as it took each step. Ishiko looked at it, taking in every detail. But she recognized its mismatched eyes. The acid green…. That was the Keisuke she hated… the one that purposely hurt her. And the dull brown, it was tired. That was the one. _Keisuke you're in there I know you are… _She thought pathetically. Her eyes filled with sorrow at the sight of her brother.

"Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaseee….. Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay." It breathed. Ishiko felt tears come to her eyes. These ones weren't coming from her heart. This time… it was her natural love for him. Her love for her older brother, the natural love between siblings. She hated this… She tilted her head as the tears finally came.

"Keisuke…" She shook her head and the creatures breathe hitched from gurgling up more black tar.

"What have you become?" She asked in a whisper. It stopped, stilling for a moment and there was no sound other than the tar hitting grass and dirt. It sounded like he was choking, and he was simply accepting the fact he was. He whined, bringing his deformed face closer, a black tongue ran across Ishiko's cheek, lapping up a tear and leaving a streak of black. She had promised to kill him a long time ago. But when the time came. She found she didn't have it in her to kill him. When they were kids, all they had were each other, they relied on each other. No matter what, she couldn't betray that vow they took to keep each other safe. No matter what.

"Kiiill…" He gasped out. His eyes were so dull.

"Me…" It was Ishiko's turn to still. Keisuke stood, awaiting anything that came his way. Did he finally realize? Did he realize that he really had changed? This horrible skin he was trapped in was the result of associating with Orochimaru. It was his fault. He had managed to keep this monster in him so well contained all these years. But now, he was weak. He shouldn't be here. He was only hurting himself in forcing his sister to do what she doesn't want. Ishiko set a hand on Keisuke's jaw, shaking her head.

"I can't." Now she felt what Kakuzu must have when she asked for him to kill her. She may have hated Keisuke, and wanted to take the first person she ever loved out of existence for his own good, but for some reason… she couldn't bring her hand to end him. This was her Keisuke. A questioning whine came from him as the girl hugged his strange neck. "I can't…" she sobbed, her fingers tightening around the red skin.

"Plleeeaaassse," he gurgled, trying to pull out of her hug, "Kiiiiiill….kiiiill…meee." Everything was shaking from the grief she felt for her dying brother. She wished she had the courage to end him, but she couldn't muster any of it for his sake. It felt wrong to kill him.  
The sound of approaching people made both siblings turn in the direction the hurried steps were coming from. At first, Ishiko though it was Dariru finally catching up; however, the voice that called out her name was masculine and made every part of her body shiver with delight.

"Ishiko!?" Kakuzu's voice rang out from the woods as if it were a dream. For a moment, the sadness melted away into relief and joy when she could see her lover's silhouette emerge from the trees.

"Kakuzu…" she whispered, not noticing the smile that came to her face or the fact that her feet were slowly taking her towards the approaching man. It wasn't until she could see his tan skin did something tackle her to the ground. Keisuke snarled, his lips pulled back to reveal stained teeth as he pinned her to the earth. The tips of his claws dug into her shoulders, making her cry out mostly from the shock of being attacked by him. "Keisuke! Stop it!" She screamed, her fists slamming against his body in an attempt to get him off.

Her brother snarled and his jaws snapped just inches from her ear. He kept his snout there long enough to gurgle out, "I'm sooorryyy…" Ishiko stared at him, ignoring he feel of the black liquid when it dripped on her face. He was doing his on purpose so Kakuzu, or someone else, would kill him. He wanted to die now…

Keisuke was shoved off of her body, making room for Kakuzu to hover over her protectively. The tan man's tendrils were out and ready to strike in case the monster lunged. "Are you alright Ishiko?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the stalking Keisuke.  
Ishiko sat up and grabbed her lover's arm, trying to get his attention. "Kakuzu, he didn't mean it—"

"Of course not, now that he's gonna get his ass kicked!" The man snarled almost as viciously as Keisuke had.

"No! You don't understand! He's dying Kakuzu! He wants you to kill him!" She tugged on his arm, feeling the tensed muscles beneath her fingers. Kakuzu looked at her, the emerald eyes giving the girl a sort of comfort and warmth that she had missed. It felt so wonderful to see him again, to feel him, to hear him. It was as if he had been a dream when she was with Keisuke; the only proof of his existence being his children that were growing in her.

At first she was expecting her lover to back down, to just tell her something comforting; however, the man seemed to turn on her and snapped, "Good! Let me hurry up and put him out of his misery!" He tried to lunge forward, but Ishiko tightened her grip on his arm, pulling him back towards her.

"No! Please Kakuzu! Don't!" She held fast, even as her lover stood up and began to advance towards the snarling, retreating beast. He shouldn't kill her brother, and even if he could she wouldn't let him. Not after seeing the familiar Keisuke she had grown up with in those tired eyes.

A hard kick from one of her babies made the girl double-over, her hand groping at the protruding belly in pain. Another kick and she was on her knees, small groans coming from her throat as her children caused more pain. Her sudden condition made Kakuzu stop his hostile advance and turned his attention to his young lover.

"Ishiko?" he crouched next to her, hands grabbing her shoulders to keep her steady. "What's wrong?"  
Every breath brought another jolt of pain to her body. "The babies..." she gasped, "they...they kick so hard..." Their kicking stopped the moment more pairs of hurried footsteps approached. But Kakuzu still kept his eyes on her, the heart in his chest pounding almost in curiosity.

He knew exactly why their children were causing so much pain to her tiny body, and it was his fault. If he had put her proper heart back inside then the kicks would be nothing more than tiny little taps instead of violent attacks. But he couldn't put her heart back in her now; not when the babies were still developing. The operation would destroy their young lives before they could even live them properly.

The girl leaned into him and he welcomed her with open arms, holding her tightly enough to ring her comfort. There was a small rustle of bushes before Tadashi, Kisame and Dariru emerged into sight. At the sight of her fallen friend, Dariru went to her immediately, ignoring the small jealous glare Kakuzu greeted her with. She touched Ishiko's hair lightly, not noticing the blood she stained the chocolate locks with.

"What's wrong with her?" Dariru asked, looking at the tan man for an explanation since the pregnant girl was still groaning from pain.

"The twins are kicking," he grumbled, scooping his woman up in his arms delicately as he stood up. "We need to get her away from here, now."

Tadashi stared past the approaching Kakuzu with a quizzical look. He put his hands on his hips and asked, "Where's Keisuke?"

Everyone froze at the question, all of them suddenly realizing that a certain deformed man was missing from the scene. Kakuzu looked around, obviously baffled by the discovery, and gritted his teeth. "We'll look for him later," he grumbled before storming past the group, "Right now, we need to get Ishiko out of here." Dariru bit her lower lip nervously at the man's sudden attitude, but she stood up and followed anyway with Kisame next to her.

Tadashi lingered behind for the longest, glaring suspiciously at the footprints in the ground. He knew which way the monstrous man had gone, and he would have pursued him too if that was what Ishiko had wanted. However, his mistress was in pain and needed his help. Like Kakuzu had said, Keisuke could wait. Death was written in the older Tsuwa's future, but it would have to be postponed for now.

The man gave the forest one last glare before darting off to catch up with his companions.

–

Itachi watched the group leave, but made no effort to try to stop them. Instead, the Uchiha went after his struggling superior. He found Keisuke limping aimlessly deeper into the forests, the man's new appearance disgusting in Itachi's eyes. However, he ignored the red skin and approached the monster, stepping over the trail of black liquid that was left behind. The gurgling noise grew louder when Keisuke sensed his partner's arrival when the black-haired man was by his side.

"Iiiiitaaachhhiii...." Keisuke wheezed making more of the liquid spill from his mouth. "Sheeeee'lllll....diiiiieeeee...in laaaboooor."  
Itachi stroked the top of the monster's head reluctantly, but he felt like he had to. It was a small comfort to the dying creature. "I know."

He struggled to take in a breath, "Saaaveee...heeer. Doooon't...leeet my sissssteeerrr...dieeee."

"I will, Keisuke-sama," The man nodded.

"Eeevveeen if iiit meaaannsss...killiiiiing...the spaaaaawnnnssss..." He hesitated before nodding slowly. "As you wish, Keisuke-sama."

* * *

*= Ishiko just had a small dementia moment, she forgot where Dariru went since this is a symptom of her Huntington's.


	52. Chapter 52

Yes we're both alive and well thanks for asking. sorry it took so long school can really get in the way of hobbies and Blood Thirsty Me simply has a life. I know right? Oh dare she have a life? More drama of this story coming your way and reviews are much appreciated not like we're getting any.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Two

The way home started off as a silent one. Dariru and Kisame were closer, next to each other like their hips were connected. Tadashi was behind everyone else, silent because Ishiko hadn't ordered him to speak in any way. Kakuzu moved at a slow pace, hurried. But still slow and careful. But like always, Dariru was first to speak up.

"Is she okay?" She asked, referring to the girl in Kakuzu's arms. Kisame took her hand and rubbed the back end with his thumb, knowing that the news will break his lover. Dariru cared a lot for Ishiko, perhaps a little too much for a dying girl like that. Kakuzu stayed silent, cradling his broken Ishiko with such delicacy. But every hour or so, Ishiko would wake from her silent state and sob a little, realizing everything that had occurred was all real, and not a nightmare. Kakuzu realized this too.

After a while, when the sun was finally starting to rise, they reached the desert again and Kakuzu set Ishiko down next to him, taking off his cloak and placing it protectively over Ishiko's head. She didn't resist or thank him in anyway, but Kakuzu thankfully didn't acknowledge it. Kisame did the same for Dariru, figuring all that his lover had gone through. She didn't need getting sunburn being part of her problems. Dariru resisted a little, feeling guilty. After all she… did… Kisame still cared for her.

"Can you walk?" Kakuzu asked, kneeling in front of Ishiko but she only stared ahead, her brown eyes blank and not understanding. Kakuzu waited a second, and Kisame felt his own heart bleed for the man. Kakuzu was already lost. When the disease finally took its full effects on Ishiko's mental health this is how Kakuzu would be. Even though Ishiko will be totally brain-dead, Kakuzu will still treat her as a fully operational human. Kisame placed a hand on Dariru's back and urged her to move forward, however, Dariru resisted, still wanting to watch the interaction between Kakuzu and Ishiko.

After a while, when Ishiko didn't answer, Kakuzu took it as approval and he stood up, taking his place next to his lover. Ishiko took a couple of steps and stumble, automatically caught by Kakuzu and he honestly looked like he was going to cry. His eyes full of pain and knowledge. The love of his life was about to die. Seeing the decline of such a person must have been extremely hard to take. Kisame only figured that in comparing to his own love. Sure Dariru was stubborn, and that eventually might lead to her death, but it wasn't like that was inevitable.

The entire trip was long, hot and exhausting. Every time Ishiko stumbled, everyone would stop and wait for her to regain balance. On occasion she would fall, but Kakuzu was always there to catch her while the others watched with their breath held. But she would always recover, and the group would keep moving sluggishly forward. When night fell, Kakuzu wanted to stop to rest for his lover's sake; though Tadashi disagreed with the older man's opinion, thinking it would be best to hurry up and get out of the desert, he kept his mouth shut. Only because his mistress had not told him to speak freely yet.

All five of them made a triangle in the sand as they recovered their energy under the star-filled sky. Kakuzu and Ishiko made one point, Tadashi made his own with a watchful gaze on his owner, while Dariru and Kisame made their own away from the three. Kakuzu was holding his woman with great care, keeping all attention on her and blocking out the rest of the world. Occasionally, he would mumble something in her ear but would get either little or no response from the girl. Her condition was beginning to worry him and both of her bodyguards.

Dariru kept her eye on her miserable friend, her teeth biting her lip so hard that blood had begun to trickle down her chin. Had they been in private, Kisame would have licked the blood off her; but he knew that now was not the time to get anybody hot and bothered in the sexual way. The blue man nudged the short-haired girl's shoulder, only getting a quick glance from her before she returned her worried gaze to the pregnant girl. It made him grumble to himself. He had finally gotten his lover back and now she was too worried about Ishiko to even notice him.

He nudged her again before whispering, "She'll be fine, Dariru. Try not to worry too much about it."

Dariru shook her head fervently, "No. No it's not fine," she tried to whisper, but it came out more as a choke. "They're killing her, Kisame. They're killing her from the inside and we can't do anything about it! She's..." another shake of her head before she mumbled, "She's gonna die..."

Though he wanted to tell her about the transfusion Keisuke was planning on using, he felt that he shouldn't. Sure it would make her feel better, but it still freaked him out that she would be giving up some her life to let a friend live. Even if it was his own life on the line, he wouldn't let her do it. However, the blue man saw something else in his lover's eyes when he looked down at her. Amidst the concern he could have sworn he saw guilt in her eyes.

Another nudge and he mumbled, "What's wrong?"

"You mean besides the fact that my friend is dying?" she snapped a little, but gave him an apologetic look the moment the words were out. He ignored her comment, figuring she was really tense emotional-wise, and nodded. Again, she nibbled her lip, staining her teeth red.

Kisame tried so hard not to get horny or turned on. So instead, he forced himself to shut off all of his horny emotions as best as he could, and replaced it easily with concern. All the blood must have been getting to her too though. Call it selfish, but he just wanted Ishiko to get better already, so he and Dariru could focus on their relationship. But instead, they were watching one deteriorate. He had to relate in some way, even he felt some sympathy for Ishiko. They were on some missions together and even though she had a miserable habit of always running away, she was a good kid, very much like Dariru was.

Kisame pressed Dariru tighter into his chest as the only sound was Kakuzu murmuring in Ishiko's ear, and the crackling of the fire. Tadashi watched obediently, and Kisame swore he didn't even blink as her watched his owner in a dazed state and give no indication she was even alive other than her blinking. Dariru cuddled, and Kisame felt her cold hands creep under his shirt, looking for warmth and he didn't object. Her hands were now rough from battle, and dirty, but they would remedy that soon enough. At least she wasn't avoiding him like the plague is all he asked.

Suddenly Ishiko's eyes shifted to the side, and her lips tugged a little at the corners, seeing Tadashi and he leaned forward, meeting her gaze. Tadashi grinned like an idiot, and he was fidgeting, he brought himself into a crouch and bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Tadashi… What brings you here? I thought Keisuke had killed you. It was news to me to find you were alive." Kakuzu nuzzled her cheek rewardingly, glad she was speaking. But Ishiko didn't pay any mind and she even smiled slightly. Dariru noticed and held her breath. Tadashi grinned even brighter and leapt a couple of feet towards the pregnant girl, making Kakuzu's narrowing eyes flash to him but he remained quiet. Ishiko didn't move her head, but moved her eyes and smiled lightly.

"Keisuke isn't the only one who knows a fake death jutsu. I'm not at all an academy drop-out like you thought. I'm sorry to have caused you such ailment." His eyes went cute and he looked cat-like. Kisame rolled his eyes.

"You cared right? Did you cry when I died? Did you? It's because Tsuwa-senpai loves me right? She loves me?" He questioned and Kakuzu slowly inched away, keeping Tadashi at a safe distance and Ishiko just went along with it, placing the back of her hand on his cheek and he nuzzled it, feeling her cold hands on his warm face. He grabbed her wrist too, feeling her pulse and his heart stopped momentarily and started smiling again before she could see.

"I love Kakuzu, and my little twins." Dariru's eyes widened. That was probably the first time she heard Ishiko talk about the twins so endearingly, not out of concern, or out of worry. But just plainly talking about them. Kakuzu murmured something else and Ishiko sighed, leaning her head back while Tadashi watched in admiration. Kakuzu snapped up, glaring at the boy.

"She's resting now, so back up or lose your head." Kakuzu threatened, aiming his voice directly at Tadashi. Tadashi gulped and did as he was told, mumbling about how unfortunate he couldn't predict such jealousy. Kakuzu merely scoffed and Kisame guffawed, earning a pathetic glare from Tadashi.

"What about you Miss Dariru-chan?" Tadashi questioned and Dariru tilted her head.

"I just barely met you." Dariru answered and Tadashi only smiled.

"But it was love at first sight right?" Before Dariru could answer that time Kisame swiveled, turning the opposite way and taking Dariru along with him, who sat in his lap comfortably. Tadashi grumbled but didn't say anything else. Kisame looked down, wiping the blood from her chin not with his tongue like he had wanted to, but with his sleeve and Dariru looked up, like it was surprising he wasn't doing anything sexual but he only kept solemn.

"Hey I actually do have self-control." Kisame shrugged and Dariru's face slowly morphed into a smiling one and Kisame returned it slightly, putting his head on her shoulder to rest. Dariru sighed, leaning her head against her lover's temple. She had missed this. Just cuddling up against the blue man and sleeping. Allowing sleep to take over, and everything washed away.

---

"Ishiko, just wear the cover." Kakuzu urged but Ishiko simply looked at him like he was being ridiculous.

"I don't need it." She argued.

"Ishiko, yes you do, please wear it." Kakuzu said again, holding his cloak up but Ishiko kept walking.

"I'm fine." Ishiko said again.

"Well the twins might not be, please just wear it." Kisame couldn't recall a time when Kakuzu had begged so much. Well once, that night of the four-way orgy, but that was different he supposed. Dariru glanced back, fiddling with her thumbs but Kisame placed a reassuring hand on her back.

"It'll weigh me down." Ishiko said back in a dazed tone. Kakuzu huffed but set the cloak on top of Ishiko's head anyway, but she didn't resist in the least and Kakuzu made sure to have a good hold on her arm.

"At this rate it'll take us a couple of days, but the Northern base isn't much of a travel, we could go there instead so Ishiko can have her babies…" Tadashi suggested. Ishiko looked up, smiling slightly and she glanced at Kakuzu who stopped and glared. It seemed like a good idea. Just go to an even closer base until Ishiko gave birth and then travel back. And Dr. Keirei could simply travel on foot to them instead of traveling back to him, but it still meant more days without care Ishiko desperately needed. Dariru decided to pipe up.

"That sounds like a good idea, maybe we should consult Konan and –"

"I'll consult them myself, it was my fault Ishiko is pregnant in the first place, after all, we're in enemy territory, the residents are filled with idiot ninja who do anything the current Tsuchikage tell them to do, and I don't feel safe to linger here with Ishiko this pregnant." Kakuzu spoke, interrupting Dariru. Tadashi hopped to Ishiko's side next to Kakuzu and he glanced from Dariru to Kisame.

"That's true. Everyone in Iwagakure knows her face, aside from the children, even in the desert there's still hidden ninja here." Tadashi added, but Kisame only glanced at his obvious Iwagakure ANBU uniform.

"Aren't you in alliance with Iwagakure?" Kisame asked, but Tadashi smiled, pulling off his scratched headband and dropped it, glancing over at his mistress.

"I was, up until they turned and killed Lord Tomoe. I was hidden to start with, but I went rogue without the Tsuchikage's knowledge, I serve the Tsuwa family only, most importantly, Ishiko-senpai. I still have information on the Tsuchikage's secret plan to still try and locate Ishiko's location." Tadashi stated and Kakuzu suddenly snapped to look at him.

"He's trying to track her?" Dariru piped before Kakuzu could even open his mouth and the amethyst-eyed man looked at her with a skirt nod.

"Ishiko poses a threat to his ruling, he broke the rules, his family cannot rule until all of the Tsuwa family is dead for him to rule, she's still alive and he's ruling, if words gets out that he did that even the anti-government groups will revolt against him. That makes it even more vitally important the word Ishiko is pregnant gets out. Or we'll have to deal with more than Keisuke." Tadashi glanced around like somebody was watching but shrugged it off. Kisame looked over to Ishiko who only stared at the ground.

"Did you ever know about this little lady?" Kisame dared to ask her, Kakuzu looked at him –glaring- and shook his head warningly. Dariru even pinched him but he didn't give any indication he felt the slight pain. Ishiko finally looked up at him and paused, her eyes shifting over to Kakuzu.

"I knew there were tensions between my family and his, but I knew while in the Akatsuki, I could never go back to be Tsuchikage. I figured he would have gone with that and left it alone, but I guess he didn't expect me to reproduce." Ishiko answered and Dariru noticed the small flinch of Kakuzu's eyes. Tadashi nodded and looked at the setting sun.

"I think we traveled rather far, we should be entering the mountain range soon enough, or if you'd like, Ishiko-senpai we could do a loop around or head into the ravine so you and Miss Dariru-chan don't have to climb all those god-awful rocks." Tadashi smiled. Dariru nodded but Kisame simply pulled her closer and stepped forward.

"Hey there was a ravine but you didn't tell us this earlier?!" Tadashi ignored him.

"I think the ravine might be a good idea." Dariru piped, despite her lover's actions. Tadashi nodded and hopped on, leading them.

"We'll start heading there and stop before we go in, it's very dangerous if you cross the ravine and you're not an Iwagakure ninja." Tadashi informed and Ishiko followed, the father of her children close behind her and a grumbling Kisame followed suit as well, earning a pinch from Dariru.

"Why's that?" Dariru asked, hoping it would change her lover's mood.

"Because there are jagged rocks and some booby traps I hear. It's dark and deep, a smooth walk in the daytime but not at night." Tadashi said again happily. Kisame and Dariru looked over at the still dazed Ishiko for some sort of approval, seeing if Tadashi was just scaring them or something. Water ninja weren't made to climb over rocks, Kisame already went through hell climbing over the damned mountains, but he didn't wants to have to go through more rocks.

"It's true. The Ravine is a deathtrap at night. Even I hardly used it. Most don't. And we're much too far away from me to use the underground tunnel. I don't think I'd have the chakra for it anyway." Kisame ignored her comment, letting Kakuzu take the pleasure of hearing his fiancé talk in general. Plus it made Dariru slightly happier to hear her friend talk and not silent like some zombie. So he wasn't complaining. Maybe it was a good idea to head towards the Northern base. Suigetsu won't be there and it'd just be the five of them as well as the doctor. He liked that idea.

"Ishiko-senpai I'm glad to hear you talking again though, it's been too long." Tadashi added and Ishiko turned her head to give a slight smile to him and Tadashi squealed in response.

"So we'll head there and stop for the night." Dariru confirmed, looking oddly at Tadashi's feminine behavior. Tadashi quickly looked at her and nodded.

---

Keisuke breathed deeply, spewing out more blood and held his monstrous stomach with his claws.

"It's getting worse… at this rate…" He mumbled, glancing down and struggling to breathe. He couched again and caused his stomach to surge another wave of blood and it spilled on the marble floors. It didn't even look like normal human blood anymore; it was black like tar and stuck to the ground like waste.

"Looks like I made a bad choice." A cold voice called out and Keisuke groaned as his ribs popped.

"Madara…-sama…" Keisuke groaned and yelped as a foot pushed him to his side and he rammed into a pillar. Keisuke whined out of his muzzle and the malicious Uchiha grabbed the once man by the muzzle and pointed it towards him.

"Maybe I should have bet my money on the girly-man rather than an incestuous dog." Madara growled. Keisuke stared sadly ahead of him and whined again, yelping as he was thrown to the ground. Keisuke hardly had anytime to get back up, Madara stomped in Keisuke neck but he didn't bother to resist.

"You know what I do to dogs who lose?" Madara threatened and Keisuke only gurgled more blood and whined. Madara, without mercy put more pressure on Keisuke's throat until a satisfying cracking of bone reached his ears and he smiled.

"Looks like I have to face Konan and admit defeat in this method." He sighed.

* * *

Cheeky Half-Demon rejoice.


	53. Chapter 53

Tadashi in my eyes is a little cutie-pie. Perhaps one day I'll draw him out but I highly doubt my hands right now can do the image in my head any justice.

* * *

Chapter 53

The sun was just starting to kiss the horizon when the group could see the mouth of the ravine. The foliage began to dwindle in thickness and numbers, and soon, even the grass began to shrink away to make room for the dirt and pebbles. Tadashi and Kakuzu were right next to Ishiko, helping the girl as they descended downhill to the narrow chasm, while Dariru watched her from further uphill, not wanting to make her friend feel too closed in by all the bodies around her. Kisame followed his lover, keeping a hand reached out behind her in case she lost her footing. Ishiko tried to push the two men near her away, not wanting to feel like some precious object, but they ignored her attempts and stayed close until they reached the mouth.

A small stream of water flowed from the ravine as two tall walls of jagged stone bordered each side and stretched out for what seemed like an endless amount of miles. It was the perfect place to set up an ambush or even a number of dangerous traps. Now it made perfect sense as to why they group would only travel by day in the narrow space; it would be easier for them to spot any traps laid out. But at night, the entire setting looked like one giant death-trap; it made every rock seem like a potential trigger.

Tadashi glanced up at the darkening sky and scrunched his face in thought. "We won't have a lot of light left...do we wanna keep going a little further, or stop now?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Kakuzu made the decision for everyone. "We'll stop now. It'll take some time to set up camp and find a some-what safe spot in this place." He motioned his head at the two looming rock walls before leading Ishiko away, making sure she found a comfortable spot before sitting next to her.

The young man shrugged, "Stay it is then," before he went off to gather food for the fire. Kakuzu watched the boy leave before turning his attention to his lover. He was relieved she was coming back to her normal self, but there was no telling how long that would last. Not only were the twins causing a strain on her, but they had no opium or any sort of drug to calm her should she start to have an attack of some sort. He hugged her close to him, hoping that her immune system could fight off the disease long enough for them to each the Northern Base.

Ishiko snuggled in closer to him, letting out a relaxed sigh at the familiarity of his warmth and scent. It was so much better compared to the feeling she had once had for her brother. How had she been able to replace this wonderful feeling with one that was nothing compared to what she felt now? Guilt squeezed at her abdomen at the memory of intercourse she had experienced with Keisuke. Kakuzu could never find out about it; he just couldn't. She wasn't sure he would ever forgive her for it; she knew she couldn't even forgive herself. So why should he forgive her?

He placed a kiss on the top of her head and mumbled, "How are you doing?"

"Better," she replied. "How much further until we reach the Northern Base?"

The man shrugged, "I have no idea. I've never been in this area, so it's hard to tell. Maybe a day or two?" He looked down at her with concern written in his eyes, "Do you think you'll make it that far?"

The girl nodded, "I'll be fine. I have the home field advantage, after all." She gave him a sly smile, hoping it would lighten his mood. It did. Kakuzu grinned and kissed her forehead, making her smile at the contact. Then his hand hovered over the protruding belly as if hesitant to touch it. She rolled her eyes in amusement and pushed his hand down gently until his large palm was over the lump. At first he stiffened, but relaxed and even began to rub her stomach. Ishiko held back a giggled at his actions, and stared at him. He seemed to be in complete shock and awe at what he was feeling and it made her glad that these were his kids. No matter what he said, she knew he would be a good father to them.

Dariru watched the couple with a relieved smile. She was glad Ishiko was coming back to them and that they were back with their lovers. The world just seemed so much more dangerous and cold without them around, and now that Keisuke was out of the picture, it made the short-haired girl more relaxed than ever. Though, at the sight of her pregnant friend and the small memories of their experience in the temple, it made her remember the incident with Keisuke pretending to be Kisame. It made her blood boil and heart squeeze tight in guilt, but as she lingered on the awful memory, the girl noticed a detail that seemed to be unclear. She couldn't remember if the fake Kisame had pulled out that night or not. Fear made her heart beat fast as her eyes locked on her friend's belly.

What if he hadn't pulled out? Panic made her mind race as she tried to remember when her period would start up again. But as she tried to remember the current day, her lover sat down behind her and pulled her back into him. Her body tensed in shock, and she prayed he wouldn't notice but he did. Kisame looked at her and loosened his grip. "What's wrong?"

Dariru smiled, trying to stop the nervous shaking that seemed to consume her entire system. "Nothing," she tried to sound confident, but with her tone she couldn't even convince herself.

The blue man gave her a disbelieving look, "Right. And I'm not blue." His expression softened as he rubbed the side of his face against hers. "Is it something that happened in the temple?" Bingo. The girl nodded slowly, trying to hold back her guilty tears and turned her face away from his; not wanting him even for a second to see the pain and guilt that was all over her face. Fingers touched the bottom of her chin as he tried to coax her into looking at him, but she refused. "It's alright," Kisame whispered into her ear, "you can tell me."

But do you want to hear? Was what she wanted to ask, but held her tongue. How could she tell him? Would he even forgive her? That was the biggest fear that swam beneath her mind; that he would never forgive her.

A small shake of her head was enough to tell Kisame that what she was holding back was bad. What had Keisuke done to her to make her so afraid? Whatever it was, he needed to know so he could tell her it would be alright. That no one could hurt her anymore; not while he was with her. The blue got up, only to sit in front of his lover so he could read her expressions. The moment he sat down she bowed her head, the bangs of her brown hair hiding what little he could see of her face. Kisame grabbed both sides of her face and tried to lift her head up, but she resisted. Her stubbornness was starting to frustrate him, but he kept his emotions leveled.

"Dariru," he spoke firmly like a father would to a child, "what happened?"

There was a small sniffle before she managed to speak out, "Keisuke..." she spoke so quietly he had to strain himself to hear the words. "Keisuke...came into my room...and...And he made it seem like it was you I was seeing...and he...he slept...with...me..." Small sobs came from the girl, but Kisame couldn't hear them. All he could hear was the rapid beating of his heart in his ears the muscle began to twist in pain.

He didn't know who to be mad at: Keisuke for placing a genjutsu on Dariru and then taking advantage of her. Or Dariru for not realizing it was genjutsu sooner than the morning-after. He didn't feel like he should be mad at his lover, but he couldn't help it; she should have known that it hadn't been him! Anger made him want to hit something, anything, to get the emotion out of his system. But grief just made his body weak to the point where he didn't want to breathe anymore.

"I'm so sorry," she spoke through sobs, "I'm so sorry Kisame...I didn't know! I'm sorry! Please..." she reached out for him, but he pulled away like she were a disease. Kisame didn't look at her, even as he stood up to walk away. He needed to vent out. And he couldn't have her anywhere near him while he was doing that; otherwise, he was afraid he may take it out on the girl.

Dariru didn't watch him leave. Instead she leaned forward until her forehead pressed against the pebbles that littered the ground. She hugged herself, her fingers tips touching her shoulder blades, and cried as quietly as she could. That was it. He didn't want her anymore. And why should he? The voice sneered, Stupid whore.

Ishiko foresaw everything, and she suddenly became alert. The scene of Kisame walking away and Dariru crumbled on the ground was just too alarming of a sight. Kakuzu didn't notice right away. It wasn't until Ishiko suddenly burst up, but retracted from the pain of the suddenness did he care to actually look. Ishiko's eyes flashed over to where Tadashi was coming in with an armful of pathetic twigs and brush. And seeing the seriousness in her face, his smile disappeared and he almost automatically he dropped the twigs and looked over in Dariru's direction. He gasped and flickered over to where she was.

"Are you alright, Miss Dariru?" Tadashi asked, holding Dariru by the waist as she continued to sob. He was so concerned for her. She hardly knew him, but he was so concerned for her.

"Dariru-chan!" Ishiko cried out, letting her know she was trying to get to her. She struggled and Kakuzu helped her up, glancing up from his lover to the crying girl. But no matter what, Dariru couldn't help the tears that leaked from her eyes. She couldn't stop them. She had always taught herself to be strong, her father as well. Kisame had such an effect on her. Ishiko finally made it to where she was, surprisingly panting from such strain but even Kakuzu didn't seem to notice this time.

"Ishiko wants to know if you're alright." Kakuzu mumbled and Ishiko turned to glare at him momentarily but she returned her flushed face to Dariru.

"He doesn't want to admit it, but he's concerned too." Ishiko said for him but he only grumbled and looked back at her.

"Don't fill her head with lies." He said with a small sneer, but it wasn't like he could put much of an effort against Ishiko of all people. She didn't mind him and looked back to Dariru with a concerned face, brushing a lock of hair from her tainted face. Kakuzu stared on. Dariru almost smiled at the thought. Hell would freeze over the day Kakuzu was actually worried for her out of his own will. He was somewhat jealous of her, because of her quickly developed relationship with Ishiko, and despised her for constantly doubting his care for the spy. But maybe she just grew on him, or maybe it was out of dept. After all while Kakuzu was out of the picture Dariru was the one who had to handle Ishiko, Dariru was the one who was there for her when Kakuzu couldn't be there. Ishiko looked up in Kisame's direction.

"Did something happen? Forgive me for prying…" Ishiko said quickly and Tadashi adjusted Dariru in his arms so she wasn't putting so much of a strain on his already overworked arms. Dariru felt the tears return with a vengeance. And by the look of Ishiko's face dropped, she must have realized what had happened. Dariru had told.

The spy gave her crying friend a pitiful look. "Dariru-chan..." she breathed, reaching out to pet the girl's head in an attempt to calm the pained cries and sobs. Both men looked at Ishiko in confusion, but she ignored them; her friend's lover had not forgiven her for something that wasn't her fault. It must be tearing the girl's insides in ways that the pregnant girl could not imagine.

Dariru began to rock her upper body slowly, salty tears still streaming down her cheeks and staining whatever was beneath her. "I wanna die..." she mumbled through sobs, "I wanna die. I wanna die. I wanna die. I wanna die." The plead became a never-ending mantra that was interrupted only by an occasional sob or for a quick in-take of air.

Ishiko's hand rubbed her back, "It'll be alright Dariru-chan," she mumbled, though the words had little to no effect. It was like they were not even there in the girl's now death-obsessed mind.

Tadashi was the one who dared to ask what was on his mind. "Why's she crying like this?" Ishiko nibbled on the inside of her cheeks nervously. This may not be something she should share with Tadashi, or even Kakuzu; what had happened at the temple must have been very traumatic for Dariru. Especially since Ishiko was spared most of the trauma since she was Keisuke's sister. But there was no holding back when it came to the short-haired girl. Had Ishiko not cared for her well being, the girl would have been dead before any of the men had arrived at the temple.

Of course, had her friend not be in a state of pure depression, Ishiko would have asked for permission first before telling the story. But since the girl was still muttering "I wanna die..." and did not seem to be paying any attention at what was going on around her, the spy decided to tell them what Keisuke had done to the short-haired girl that night.

"And now..." Ishiko finished up, "Kisame didn't take the news very well and—as you can see—he left." Tadashi's eyes were as wide as his open mouth, while Kakuzu stared at the ground in thought. There was a silence between them, except for Dariru's murmurs, and it made Ishiko feel uncomfortable. She kept rubbing her friend's back, trying to occupy her mind on something else other than the silence between the two men. The spy prayed that she had done the right thing by telling them what had happened. It made her wonder if they would be this silent if she had told them that she had slept with Keisuke willingly and without a genjutsu.

Again, Tadashi was the first to speak his mind, and loudly too. "What the hell is his problem!?" The young man released the muttering Dariru, her sobs finally quieting down, and stood up with his fists on his hips. "I'm gonna have a few words with that pig-headed..." he clenched his jaw as he tried to think of an appropriate insult before storming off after the blue man. The moment he was gone, Dariru stared at the torn Akatsuki cloak that covered her back, which Kisame had given her to keep the girl from getting sunburned, like it was a distant memory. Very slowly, she pulled the cloak off, still muttering her plead, and began to fold it as neatly as she could. The girl placed the cloth in front of her before standing up and walked away from it.

Ishiko began to stand up with difficulty, but was successful when Kakuzu helped her up. She watched Dariru go behind a small boulder and sat down, her red and gray striped back facing the two onlookers. The pregnant girl took one step forward before being stopped by her lover. She turned her head quickly for an explanation, which he supplied immediately.

"Leave her be, Ishiko. No matter what you do to try to cheer her up, it won't work."

She gave him a glare, but knew he was right. "I can't just let her sit there and mope, Kakuzu. I've...I've got to do something to at least make her stop that stupid chant." It did not feel right for the once positive and always-smiling helper to be so...dead. At the beginning of the day, Ishiko had been happy; mostly because she was with Kakuzu again and that they were on their way back home. But now...Dariru's sudden depression and grief was contagious. It was effecting just about everyone in some way.

"The only one who can fix her," Kakuzu mumbled, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezed in reassurance. "Is Kisame. No one else."

Ishiko shook her head. This wasn't right. "But...it wasn't her fault--"

Her lover raised a hand and interrupted, "I know that. You know it, and so does Tadashi. But our opinion about it doesn't matter to her. It's Kisame's." Ishiko crossed her arms and stared at her friend, who had pulled her knees to her chest and was hugging herself again. That girl had saved her and her babies from Keisuke's wrath; and now that she was the one who needed saving, there was nothing Ishiko could do about it. There was nothing anyone could do.

Warm hands guided her away from the scene. "C'mon. Let's get the fire started."

–

Tadashi was leaned against the ravine's wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched the blue man attack imaginary opponents furiously. The older man's muscles were tense, not only from the exertion that he was putting on them, but from the pain that was both physical and emotional. Though, Tadashi had to admit that, even though Kisame was middle-aged, he had a nice muscled body. It definitely added to his intimidating features. The young man waited patiently for the criminal to finish up his anger-management exercise, which didn't end very well. Kisame's broken shoulder twisted itself in a way that could not be ignored. The man let a pained curse before bending over, his good hand hovering over the aching injury.

Still, the bodyguard remained silent, the only noise coming from Kisame, which were his heavy breaths and tired pants. Finally, the shark-like man stood up straight and grumbled, "What do you want?"

At first Tadashi did not answer; he just glared at the sweaty back that was before him and hoped the man felt guilty for his injustice. "It's not her fault." He stated firmly, pushing himself off the rock wall as the older man began to pace slowly in thought.

"First he kisses her and then he fucks her." Kisame snarled as he wiped some sweat from his neck. "Bet you're gonna tell me it's not her fault she got pregnant with his kid too?" The hostility rose in his voice, but it did not faze Tadashi for one moment.

"Nope. Keisuke-san doesn't cum in anyone. He always pulls out."

A sarcastic smirk came from the man as he shook his head. "You would know that, wouldn't you?" The sentence was meant to be an insult, and it worked. Tadashi had to clench his hands into fists to keep himself from snapping.

"Listen," Tadashi started, keeping his tone as level as possible. "She thought it was nothing more than a dream. And she probably would still think it was a dream had she not bit his lip--"

A n aggravated groan came from the blue man, "Spare me the oh-so-wonderful details! I don't want to hear anymore of this!" He raised his voice, spilling out his anger and sorrow. "I should have just...just...let that monster tear her throat out!" The statement shocked them both into a silence. Kisame was breathing heavily, but Tadashi could see the pain in his eyes. It was the sort of pain one would see in someone who was betrayed. But that was how the blue man felt...betrayed.

"She didn't hurt you on purpose," Tadashi mumbled, his quiet voice seemed to have more effect than Kisame's outburst. "I'm sure if she had known who it really was, she would have resisted. She loves you." Kisame looked down and shook his head, but the young man kept going. "You still love her. You know it wasn't her fault!"

No response came from the blue man. The bodyguard rolled his eyes and finally let himself snap. "Forget it. You don't want her anymore? Fine. Tell her that yourself! Maybe then she'll finally go insane and slit her wrists open." When he turned to walk away, he paused at a sudden memory. His last prediction...someone had strong thoughts of suicide. Of course he couldn't remember what had happened after that, but he was sure It couldn't be good.

Before he could make his way back to camp, something grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around. A fist collided with his jaw and the young man could have sworn he felt something crack as he hit the dirt ground. When he rolled onto his back, a furious Kisame was hovering over him with pointed teeth bared and eyes narrowed.

"Don't you ever wish ill upon her!' He growled lowly, waving a finger in front of his face.

Tadashi couldn't help but smirk. "But you can? You just said so yourself that you should've let Keisuke rip her throat out. Kinda ironic, isn't it?"

The man's fingers curled slowly into a fist. "I didn't mean it--"

"And neither did she!' He reminded the blue man of what had started this whole thing. At first the glare didn't waver, but soon the white eyes began to soften with realization and acceptance. Kisame stood up and took a few steps back to let Tadashi stand up. The young man caressed the spot where he had been punched, wincing at the stinging pain. "Well, I'm gonna go see how much sanity Dariru-san has left."

"What do you mean by that?" Tadashi felt relieved when he heard the concern in the man's voice.

"I mean right after you left, she started bawling her eyes out and kept muttering 'I wanna die'."

* * *

Hmmm.... twisty


	54. Chapter 54

I've been wanting to do this one for a long while, anyway, reviews are much appreciated.

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Chapter 54

Ishiko seemed so docile now, but she stared off into the night, her eyes filled with worry as she was still looking for any signs of Tadashi. Dariru had fallen asleep in her arms, her head resting in what was left of Ishiko's lap. She was still nervously stringing what she could of Dariru's hair, keeping her relaxed as much as she possibly could. But she couldn't help but think how wrong this was. _Dariru why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut? _She asked. _Why couldn't you just keep it a secret? _She thought again. But as much as she was criticizing Dariru about the matter, she realized the truth. Dariru was only human. This girl, this precious, delicate girl in her arms wasn't meant for the ninja world.

Dariru was too kind. Dariru was too sweet to be involved with such bloodshed and inside a world so cruel. She was cursed with that fate, and Ishiko wished above all things to push her out. She was happy when she found that Dariru would not be assisting in any missions. As selfish as it seemed, she felt like she could still fix her. Ishiko was too deep in sin to save herself, she felt like she could still save Dariru. Even though she was sinking, drowning, she could still push Dariru up. She owed her at least that much.

"Dariru-chan, I'm sorry for dragging you into all this." She whispered, and planted a soft kiss on Dariru's cheek, which she winced from. Ishiko retreated with a frown. Her mind was growing fuzzy and she gently placed Dariru on the ground, she needed to leave. She wanted to leave before something horrible happened. She didn't want to break Dariru anymore as is it, and this darkness she felt wash over her, she didn't trust it in the least. This was the Ishiko she had been trying to withhold all these years. The one she knew was just like her Mother, it was finally erupting.

"Kakuzu, please watch over Dariru, please." Ishiko pleaded standing up as fast as she possibly could. Kakuzu looked at her with unwavering eyes, but she couldn't bear to look at them right now. Her mind was so fuzzy, she hardly remembered his name. All she knew was that she had to get away right now, or her hands that she had been so determined to keep blood-free, would hurt somebody. She didn't want Dariru to be caught in this crossfire.

"Ishiko-!" Before Kakuzu could finish Ishiko shook her head and went off, alone. He glanced down at Dariru and sighed, picking her up. She was so tiny, just like his Ishiko. Was there something wrong with him? To love such small things, to adore them. But this was different, Dariru and Kisame were having issues right now. He couldn't understand what Kisame was getting worked up for. The man was lucky Dariru was sticking around for more than a month, for her to cheat once was hardly a crime. And since it was Keisuke of all people, if he was sick enough to lust for his little sister, was it really that surprising for him to go after Dariru as well? They may as well be twins, with matching hair and eyes and same kind souls. But maybe it was just him, he wouldn't mind in the least for Ishiko to betray him.

After all the times he had broken her, all the things he had robbed her of, he saw it only as fair.

---

Kisame stared at Tadashi for the longest time, unable to speak from his throat. Had his Dariru really begged for death after his departure? It just seemed so unlikely that he thought the boy might be lying. Then again if his lover was in such a state now because of his sudden leave, didn't that mean she still loved him? The fantasy sounded too good to be true. But the only reason she had even let Keisuke anywhere near her room was because the boy had looked like Kisame. He should not be blaming her for being tricked like that, especially since she was being held captive. To see him suddenly with her must have been such a relief to the girl that the possibility of a genjutsu had never crossed her mind.

But how could he know that for sure? He was not there when it happened, so how could he believe her or even Ishiko for that matter? Kisame rubbed the side of his head as numerous contradicting thoughts flourished his mind. He did not know what to do. Deep down inside of his gut, his body pleaded for him to go to the distressed Dariru and search for comfort and to clear his mind. And even though he took a step, he stopped himself. He just didn't know what to do.

"So?" Tadashi pressed, trying to get more of a reaction from the blue man. "You gonna do anything about it? Or is it officially over between the two of you?" The thought made Kisame's heart stop in panic and fear. This girl had caused so much confusion ever since he had met her, and even though he had a perfectly good reason to leave her behind, he couldn't. He still wanted her...he needed her.

Before Kisame could respond, the shifting of rocks made both men freeze and stare at the same spot. Someone was coming, and it made them both shift slowly and silently into defensive stances, preparing themselves for any form of attack. A stumbling silhouette of a female approached, and it wasn't until the figure got closer did they recognize it as Ishiko. Tadashi let out a relieved sigh and Kisame just relaxed himself.

The pregnant spy stopped and eyed them both for a moment as if she could not see properly. The moment her gaze fell upon the blue man, the brown orbs narrowed dangerously. Her hostility towards him could only mean that Dariru was in bad shape, and it made the blue man feel slightly guilty for causing such pain to his lover. Even if she had hurt him unintentionally.

"Tsuwa-senpai!" Tadashi greeted happily, but his approach of full of concern. "You shouldn't be wandering around so late at night. Remember, this ravine is full of booby-traps--" His sentenced trailed off into silence as Ishiko stepped away from him as if he hadn't even existed.

"You!" Ishiko hissed. Kisame was a little thrown back at first by the fierceness in the girl's voice. He had always known her as some pathetic pacifist who didn't like to dirty her spoiled hands. But seeing her, this angry and malicious, it was a little startling even for him. Tadashi backed up a small step, following after Ishiko a couple steps or so but she seemed to finally notice him and was greatly annoyed by his presence. Her hand shot out and grabbed his throat; Tadashi gasped for a moment but didn't bother to fight back.

"Tsuwa-senpai!!" Kisame felt needed to do something, Tadashi just alerted him of terrible news and brought his head back in the game when it came to Dariru. He cared for Dariru, and he couldn't let him be abused like this.

"You-!! I hated you ever since I saw you!!" Ishiko hissed angrily. Tadashi's eyes widened and he seemed to be taking it to heart. But Ishiko felt dizzy. This wasn't happening. She wouldn't say such things. She wouldn't be choking someone like this. She had sworn against violence. But even though she was telling herself such things, some greater force made her hand tighten around his throat. How easy it was to kill a person. How easy it was to steal a life like this, it scared her. It always did.

"Tsuwa-senpai please," Tadashi couldn't finish; her hold on his throat was too strong. He dropped to his knees as Ishiko forced his down further. She brought her other hand and wrapped it around his neck. Her eyes filled with something neither man recognized. Kisame couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward, grabbing the back of Ishiko's collar, but before he could rip her off Tadashi, a new, taller figure appeared. It only took him to recognize Dariru's scent. Her scent was still so sweet, even though it was mixed with someone else's. She was carried by one arm of Kakuzu's, and Kakuzu held Kisame's arm firmly in place.

"Ishiko, let go of him." Kakuzu ordered softly. Ishiko's nostrils flared and she looked back at him, her arm already collecting rock and stone. Her eyes were crazed and maniacal. Kisame's eyes scanned and his heart skipped a beat, seeing Dariru asleep with her cheeks stained with tears in Kakuzu's arms.

"This is your entire fault!" Ishiko screamed at her tall fiancé. Kakuzu stayed still, his eyes leaving Ishiko and turned to Kisame walking towards him with Kisame's life in his arms. It was hard. It was unbelievable to see her in someone else's arms, seeing her so hurt from something she never meant to do.

"Do you hear me!?" Ishiko said again, but both men ignored her for a while. Kisame had to stop himself from running up to Kakuzu and ushering Dariru into his arms, his heart was still a little hesitant despite him knowing fully he still loved her. He would always love her. But then he tried to think of another way. If he cheated on her- even by accident, would she want him back? Who was the Reacher, and who was the Settler in this relationship? He wasn't sure if he could fully live on without her, no matter what. She could have done so much better than him, and with Keisuke of all people. If he couldn't control the pride between his legs for her, what made him so sure a monster like Keisuke would be able to? Kakuzu held her out a little, as if willing to take her back if need be.

"Take her if you really want to take her back." Kakuzu said darkly. Kisame looked down at her, she was probably going to have a nightmare if he didn't hold her close to him, and let her hear his heartbeat. She would be scared of a shark, and seek the comfort of one. Dariru contradicted herself.

---

"Don't touch me." Ishiko snarled, keeping close to Dariru and Kisame. Even though he personally didn't want her close either, she was being loud and brash and he feared she may wake Dariru up. He would prefer her to go scream in the desert if she was going to be so loud, he didn't exactly want Dariru to wake up just yet. He needed to figure out how to work this out. How he could fix this mistake Keisuke set her up to do. But he kept his mouth closed, the spy was only sticking close to him since she wanted to be near Dariru just oh so badly.

"Ishiko your being ridiculous-"

"Oh! I'm ridiculous!? Why's that!? Because I'm the one swelling up like a balloon!!?" Ishiko threw her hands in the air and Kakuzu sighed, bringing his palm to him face. Tadashi sat Indian style, across from Kisame and watching both Dariru and Ishiko carefully. Something about his gaze to Dariru bothered Kisame somewhat. He was gazing at her like he was admiring a queen. He was already insecure enough as it was, but Tadashi was being such a little thorn in Kisame's side right now. Especially since he couldn't exactly hold Dariru right because of his bad arm.

"You know that's not it," Kakuzu said from across the blazing fire. Ishiko only narrowed her eyes and slumped her shoulders.

"You just want me to calm down to fuck me, this whole thing was always about the sex, I'm nothing but another Keisuke to you." Ishiko snapped. Kakuzu's eyes shifted for a split second, turning into something Kisame never thought he would express towards Ishiko. Pure, and uncensored anger. Kakuzu stood up, much to Ishiko's shock and he grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her up and Tadashi gasped for his mistress.

"Don't fuck with me Ishiko-_sama_. I would have left you when I found out you were pregnant if it was only about the sex." Kakuzu snarled right back. But Ishiko didn't seem to be backing down either. Kisame had to resort to covering Dariru's ears.

"Then I'm leaving _you!_" She declared, keeping a hand to cradle her stomach and throwing another hand in the air. Tadashi finally stood up, his face full of concern and shock. Kakuzu stilled, taking in the news as Ishiko huffed and sat back down, turning the opposite direction. Kakuzu growled aloud and grasped his mask, turning back to the desert and walking off towards the ravine.

"Kakuzu-sama! Wait-!! Tsuwa-senpai doesn't mean it-!!"

"Yes I do!!"

"Fine! Let's see how long you'll last without me!!"

This would be one long night for the man stuck in the middle; Kisame.

* * *

D'awwwww poor Kisame. He must feel like Switzerland.


	55. Chapter 55

Sorry this took so dang long to get out. Me and Blood Thirsty Me have just been so busy lately.

* * *

Chapter 55

Everything that was not herself was white. Though she was a pale girl, Dariru's skin stood out against the blinding blankness. Am I dead? She thought, and heard the echo of her mental words stretch out endlessly. No one and nothing answered back, not that she expected an answer, but at least she knew she was alone. At least, she thought she was.

"You're not dead," a female voice, much like her own, echoed quietly to the baffled girl. Dariru spun, realizing that she was not dressed in her usual attire, but in a long black gown that covered every part of her body save for the face and hands. She ignored the strange outfit and looked around for the owner of the voice.

"Who's there?" She asked to the white, "Show yourself!" There was a small rustle of cloth and immediately she spun around, meeting face-to-face with...herself. The girl took a few steps back in shock, and noticed the small differences in the copy that stood before her. This girl's hair stopped at her elbows and had a small wave in it. She had a sly look on her face and in her eyes as if she were plotting several moves at once or even predicting what Dariru might do. The longer-haired copy had the same style gown on, but in a crimson red color; which made her seem more intimidating as she began to circle the baffled original.

"Are you...me?" Dariru asked, her eyes never leaving the copy as she kept circling her like a hawk circles an unsuspecting field mouse.

"In a way, yes," The copy answered. "But at the same time, I'm not. I...am merely a voice in your head."

Dariru couldn't help but scoff, "Which one?"

The copy ignored the question and stopped, lifting a finger to tap her own cheek. It was then that Dariru noticed that her nails had been filed into points and were painted a bright red. The girl couldn't help but shiver uncomfortably at the sight. With a pondering sigh, the long-haired version spoke, "We never did get to see if our plan would work..."

"Plan?" Dariru echoed. "What plan?"

"The plan to see how long Kisame-kun would last without sex from you. But seeing as how you decided to sleep with Ishiko-chan's brother, we may never get to see the results."

As the realization came crashing like a ton of bricks, Dariru pointed an angry finger at the copy as guilty rage burned within. "I would never sleep with that scumbag willingly!"

"But you have," The copy turned on her, eyes full of joyous realization. "Illusion or not, you let him stick his dick inside you. Of course, now I see why you prefer the shark-man instead of normal looking humans. He really knows how to ram you senseless--" A loud smack echoed through the air, and both girls cried out in shock. Dariru had slapped her copy, but she had shared the pain.

"That's not the only reason why I love him!" Dariru shouted as the long-haired one rubbed her reddening cheek. "He cares about me! He even came after me when that bastard took Ishiko and I away! I enjoy Kisame's company, and I wouldn't mind just listening and-and talking to him all day! I love him! And I would die for him!" Hot tears threatened the escape their prison as the short-haired girl heaved with heavy breaths.

Without any sign of emotion, the copy replied, "Yes. He is a wonderful man." She straightened herself and her red dress before adding, "And that is why you don't deserve him."

The sentence crushed Dariru's heart as if it were in a fist. "And what, you think you do!?" She shot back, the copy's words sinking in her gut and mind like an animal trapped in a tar pit.

"No." she stated simply, "I don't deserve him either. You, as whole, don't deserve him." The copy walked slowly to the crumpling Dariru, who couldn't help but think that words were true. "He loved you. You knew he loved you. And what did you do?" There was silence as she bent down and placed a hand on the short-haired girl's back, the pointed nails digging soothingly into the fabric. "You let someone else take you in a way that should only be shared by lovers. Admit it Dariru. This is your fault. You'd be doing everyone a favor by killing yourself. Especially Kisame-kun."

The hand lifted away from her back, making Dariru look up at the copy. With the blinding white behind her, the copy looked like an angel of sorts. An angel of death.

"What's your name?" Dariru asked as the white began to envelope the red-dressed girl slowly.

"You already know my name," She answered, watching as the girl in black began to equally be enveloped in white.

Dariru nodded, and couldn't help but whisper the copy's name out.

"Christine..."

–

"You should go after him Ishiko-san," Kisame said after a moment's silence. Kakuzu had been gone for a long time, and Tadashi had gone after the stitched man. At first, the feminine man didn't want to go, but after being continuously snapped at by his mistress, he decided it would be best if he did leave her alone for a while. Ishiko crossed her arms and stared at the fire intensely.

"No." They were both being childish. Ishiko looked back in the direction Tadashi and Kakuzu disappeared into and she huffed again.

"I don't care where Kakuzu is at all!" Kisame's shoulder's slumped. Her act was so easy to see through, after shifting Dariru closer to him he gave Ishiko an apathetic look. He knew she missed both of them already. She was trying to pull it off like it was easy to dump a fiancé. But he knew it definitely wasn't easy for Kakuzu to pretend to be angry either. But neither of them was willing to act like the submissive partner right now. Both were trying to claim dominance, and butting heads in the process.

"I think you do." Kisame shouldn't have dared. With Ishiko's new nasty attitude she may open old wounds without any guilt or regret. This Ishiko he recognized from missions. Ishiko looked at him with half-lidded eyes and she scoffed.

"Says the man who won't forgive Dariru for something Keisuke did to her. It was practically rape you know." Ishiko spat out. Kisame stiffened, wanting to get up and grab her right then and there. But he knew the consequences. The girl had way too many allies for him to handle with a bad arm. But that blow was way too below the belt and his grip on the slumbering Dariru tightened. Ishiko smiled and chuckled.

"Hitting nerves with you it way too easy. Fish Face." She added, just to twist the knife. Kisame felt his muscles tense.

"Hey! Wouldn't it be great if Dariru-chan really was pregnant? Then I wouldn't have to suffer this? Dariru would be a much better mother to Tsuwa children."

"Shut up!" Kisame hollered at the spy, forgetting for just a moment about the sleeping girl in his arms. The thought had never occurred to him that Keisuke could have gotten his Dariru pregnant; but now that the possibility had surfaced, Kisame was terrified and more furious than before. Though he wasn't mad at Dariru, not anymore, he was mad at the older Tsuwa who had tricked her. If she was pregnant with that bastard's child...every fiber in Kisame's body screamed at him to rip it out of the womb before it would have time to fully develop. The only thing that calmed him down was the other possibility that she might not be pregnant.

The spy kept on going as if he hadn't said a word. "I wonder what it would be like, seeing her take care of a child made from the seed of the man who had tried to kill her. He probably would have too if it weren't for me. Hm...I know Dariru would take good care of the little rug-rat...she's too soft-hearted to let it die...though it may tear her up on the inside. I wonder what would kill her mentality first? The fact that it wasn't your kid. Or, you know, the fact that you put her through an unbreakable loop of guilt for something that wasn't her fault."

The blue man couldn't take it anymore; with a swiftness that even surprised himself, he grabbed a fistful of Ishiko's chocolate hair with his good hand, rage making him forget about the shifting girl in his lap. The pregnant spy gave a surprised shriek before her fingers began to dig their nails into his fist, ripping the blue skin open to let loose crimson liquid. No matter how much blood she drew from his hand, Kisame ignored it and brought her face close to his. He made sure his bared pointed teeth were visible when he hissed at her, "I've had just about enough of you and your current attitude, Ishiko-san." The spy grunted and tried to wrench her hair out of his fist, but he just pulled her back violently, not caring for a second that she was with child. "Now listen to me closely, 'cause I'm not going to repeat anything to you or even explain anything. I know now that it wasn't Dariru's fault--"

"Yeah, after I kept repeating it to you over and over—AH!" She shrieked when he pulled on her hair a little tighter.

"It's rude to interrupt someone when they're speaking," He snarled. "Did hit hurt when I found out about what Keisuke did to her? Yes. Did I let my anger and grief take too much control of me? Yes. But no matter how many times I've tried to figure this out, it all comes down one thing. That I love her. No matter what she could do...I'll always love her..." The moment his grip loosened, Ishiko yanked her head away and scooted out of arm's reach.

The spy eyed him suspiciously and noticed that her friend's eyes were wide open, but Kisame didn't seem to notice. Ishiko took the opportunity for her friend and asked, "You mean it? You swear to any god that's out there that you mean that?"

There was a small huff of disbelief as the blue man rolled his eyes. He was not one to openly believe in a higher being, but if it would calm the girl down then he would go with it. "Yes. I swear that I mean it." Dariru's body started to shake and the short-haired girl closed her eyes tightly as Kisame stroked her head softly, still unaware that she was awake. "Now that I've admitted my faults," he began, his attention never leaving the girl in his lap. "Admit yours. You know you want Kakuzu back right now. So go get him."

Ishiko glared at him and murmured, "No. I'm not going to admit to anything! Not until he apologizes!"

"For what?" Kisame scoffed.

The question made the spy pause for a moment. Why was she mad at Kakuzu? She couldn't remember quite clearly but snapped back, "He knows what he's done!" She turned away from the blue man, "I'm not gonna buckle down this time like I'm some...some...dog!" Kisame opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when Dariru began to sit up.

"She was right..." The short-haired girl muttered aloud, though mostly to herself. As she began to stand up, Kisame stood and placed a hand on her shoulder, content to feel her skin again.

"Dariru, what're you doing?" He asked, but the girl shrugged his hand off with only s half-hearted attempt before stumbling slowly forward.

"Christine..." She muttered as if exhausted, "you were right...we don't deserve him...I never had and never will deserve him..."

Her blue lover looked at her back in confusion. "Dariru what are you talking about? And who the hell is Christine?" She paused and turned her head slowly to look at him. Her eyes were bloodshot, and were red and puffy from the crying she had done just hours ago. Joyous life once swelled in those brown eyes, but now there was nothing left but lifeless guilt. It made the man's gut twist.

"I'm not good enough for you..." She answered as if stating a fact, "It was my fault...it was always my fault...I could have stopped him...had I known--"

"No, Dariru," Kisame interrupted before going up to the girl. Surely she was only acting like this because of a dream... "It's not your fault. I know it wasn't your fault..." He went to cup her face with his good hand, but the moment their skin touched, she recoiled away violently as if the contact had burned her.

"NO!" She shrieked and hugged herself, "I don't deserve your pity...I don't deserve your touches...I don't deserve anything..." She began to mumble, her knuckles turning white as they clenched her arms arms even tighter. Kisame stared at her in shock, unsure of what to do. Had he really broken her this much? Then, the girl spoke the words that had made his throat tighten when Tadashi had reported them to the blue man.

"I wanna die...I wanna die..." She shook her head and began to step away from him. "Wanna die...it'll make everyone happier...no more guilt...no more feelings of betrayal...no more...no more...I wanna die..." Kisame didn't know whether to hold her and tell her that it was going to be alright, or to slap her until she came back to her senses. But before he could do anything, the girl tore off into the darkness, going deeper into the ravine. "I wanna die! I wanna die...I wanna die!" The chant bounced off the ravine walls along with the shifting of rocks from beneath her feet.

"Dariru!" Kisame called after her and would have gone after her had Ishiko not held him back.

"You can't go after her now!" She groaned out in pain from the babies in her womb and at the energy it took to hold the man back. "You could set off a booby-trap!"

By the time he had yanked his arm out of her tiny grip, his lover's new chant had become nothing more than a faint echo on the rock walls; and even that had become nothing more than unyielding silence. He breathed heavily as if he had ran a thousand miles without stopping. The moment he felt he had regained the love of his life back, she decides to run face-first into death's arms. And it was his fault. He had broken her by not realizing what a fool he was sooner for thinking Keisuke had taken her with her full consent. For the second time, he had lost her to some unknown force. Though he wanted to go after her, he knew he couldn't; not without the help of someone who knew the ravine and all of its tricks. Ishiko was right; if he went now, he could set off a trap that could kill them all.

Kisame clenched his fists and turned away, storming towards the ravine's exit. "Hey!" Ishiko shouted after him, "Where are you going!?"

"To get Tadashi and Kakuzu," he replied, not bothering to look at her. "I'll need their help."

He heard the spy huff, "Fine then. I'll stay right here. And don't expect me to say anything to Kakuzu. 'Cause I won't!" Kisame rolled his eyes and kept on going towards the desert where the other men had gone off to.

–

Kakuzu sat on a sandy dune only a few yards from the ravine's entrance. After trying to sort out all of the emotions that swam in his head and gut, he was finally able to think rationally. Though, a few stray snakes and lizards had suffered his gruesome wrath before he was finally able to calm down. It had hurt him when Ishiko had said that she was leaving him; it hurt him more than any physical wound he may ever receive. But it had made no sense. Why would she suddenly start acting so mad at him when just moments before she was letting him hold her close like they used to? At first the man had blamed it on hormones and the fact that their children were practically killing her from the inside-out. But then again, she had also tried to suffocate Tadashi and Ishiko was a firm believer in pacifism. Hormones weren't the answer to this riddle.

However, after he had replayed the entire scenario over and over again in his mind, though it made his hearts squeeze uncomfortably, he recognized the behavior. At first it had been hard to pinpoint where he had seen the attitude before; it was on the tip of his tongue, but his mind just couldn't find the right answer even as it flipped through all of the memories he held. It had begun to drive him crazy, and was secretly thankful when Tadashi showed up.

The young man sat next to Kakuzu, who held his head in his hands while his leg bounced up and down rapidly in thought. Tadashi put a hand on his large shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "I know you may not believe me...but Tsuwa-senpai didn't mean what she said. She's..." he paused, trying to find the right words to reassure the tan man. "Maybe she's just nervous. Ya know? Or maybe it's her pregnancy hormones acting up?"

Kakuzu shook his head and sat up straight. "No. It's not hormones." He held his finger out and pointed at the dark desert before him, as if the answer were staring at him in the face. "I've seen that behavior before. This is the first time Ishiko has acted this way, but I've seen it before. I just...can't remember where or who." His palms rubbed his eyeballs as his groaned out in frustration. The answer was there, but he just couldn't put words to it...it was driving him crazy!

The two sat in silence as they both tried to remember who else could have acted that way. The problem was starting to frustrate Tadashi, for the boy started to tug at his own hair and made frustrated growls after some time. Before long, the boy started to spew out random names, hoping to jog one of their memories.

"Her instructor, the guy with silver hair?" He started, figuring she may have picked up a habit or two from the Jashinist.

"Hidan? No. He just swears a lot."

"Keisuke?" Tadashi's voice was more of a quiet squeak when he uttered the older Tsuwa's name.

"...no..." Kakuzu grumbled. Her brother was not the type of person to just randomly attack people he truly cared for.

"Kisame-san?" Though, they both knew the answer to that. Both men shook their heads and sighed simultaneously. Then, Tadashi's eyes widened slowly as if he had figured it out. His mouth opened in disbelief and realization before he started to hit Kakuzu's arm with light slaps.

"Kakuzu-san!" He started, still hitting the man's arm. "I know! I know who it is!"

The older man grabbed the boy's wrist and replied, "Well, then spit it out!"

"Her mother! Didn't Tsuwa-senpai's mother act like frequently? And with her own children?" Both men stared at each other with wide eyes as the metaphoric clouds lifted. Kakuzu believed he knew the reason why Ishiko was acting like her mother, and though he wasn't too sure, he did not want to take any chances.

"How well do you know your way though the ravine, Tadashi-san?" Kakuzu started, getting up and brushing the grains of sand from his pants.

"Uh...kind of well. But, I don't know if I'll be able to navigate through it during the night. I don't know where all the booby traps are." Tadashi answered, also brushing the sand off of himself "Why? What's wrong?"

"I think Ishiko may have another attack soon." The man began making his way towards the ravine when he met up with Kisame. Before he could let the blue man get a word in, he asked, "Where's Ishiko?"

Kisame jabbed his thumb backwards, "At camp. Is Tadashi with--"

"Is Dariru with her?" The tan man interrupted, brushing past the man.

"That's why I came here," Kisame started after him, "Dariru ran off further into the ravine. And I need Tadashi to help me get—"

Kakuzu spun on his heels and snarled, "You left Ishiko ALONE!?"

Kisame glared at him and did his best to control the tone of his voice, "Even if I wanted to bring her along, she wouldn't have followed me! She's being a stubborn little brat and refuses to be anywhere near you!" A fist collided with the blue man's jaw and the taste of blood filled his mouth. He snarled and was about to lunge at the tan man, but Tadashi stood in between the frustrated men and lightly pushed at Kisame's bad shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey! Both of you, calm down!" Tadashi scolded them. "You both want the same thing and that's to get through the ravine as quickly as possible." The boy licked his lips nervously before admitting, "I'll get you as far into that place as I can. But if it gets too dangerous, we'll just have to wait 'til morning before continuing. Alright?"

Both men eyes each other suspiciously, but it was Kisame who finally nodded. "Fine."

* * *

I just adore the twists Blood Thirsty Me adds. Reviews are appareciated


	56. Chapter 56

I finally gave the twin's a name. I'm trying to plan out their looks and their personality-type. Will they be close or complete opposites? I've been watching Ouran Highschool Host Club recently and I think I want the twins to be like that.

* * *

Chapter 56

"Ah…" Ishiko groaned and sat back down. This was humiliating. The once great spy ninja brought down by pregnancy. She didn't want to think of the disappointment her Grandfather would have in her right now, looking down at her. But then she scoffed. An old man like that wouldn't be allowed a hundred miles from Heaven. The huge bulge of a stomach made her wince. Ah, they kicked so hard too. They were upset about something.

"Calm down, I'll take care of you." She whispered to the two little twins and hummed. The fire twitched under the wind and a warm, dry breeze washed over her face, making her squint from the smoke. She was due in about three months now. Rubbing her hand over the bulge she sighed.

"What shall I name you two?" She sang to nobody in particular. She was alone now. Dariru was having a meltdown and even she knew there was nothing much she could do about it. She now wanted nothing to do with Kakuzu. And Kisame just grabbed her by the hair earlier. Tadashi was allies with both Dariru and herself, but right now, she would even rather him be after Dariru to help. Since she was emancipated right now, practically useless. Was she supposed to waddle after Dariru, screaming for her to stop being so delusional? She had a feeling that wouldn't work out too well. She looked down guiltily. Dariru had done so much for her, been there when she took all those pregnancy tests, helped her when she discovered her Mother's death, and yet right now, when Dariru was just teetering on the edge of insanity she couldn't do a thing.

"Hikaru and… Tsubaki." Ishiko decided. Another breeze passes and she leaned her head back. She wished she could have done something. She was right there when he got up. She could have stopped him. She could have at least pretended he woke her up while he was leaving. She could have stopped it. Another kick.

"Two kicks for yes, and one for no." Ishiko told the twins, looking even more ridiculous talking to her stomach. But she supposed that was normal for a mother to be. _I can survive without Kakuzu. I'm not dependant on him or anything. _All those 'I love you' s were only words. Words were never meant to be binding. She should have known that before. She winced as she felt another strong kick on her lower abdomen and she sucked in a breath. And then another one followed quickly after that. Hiraku and Tsubaki it was then. The Pioneer and Radiance. She wondered if it were better if they take on her last or simply have none, like Kakuzu.

"_YOU ARE SO LUCKY HE KEPT YOU-"_

She repressed the thought as soon as it sprang up. She wasn't lucky in the least. In fact she is very unlucky she had to say. Now she was really the last remaining member of her once elusive family tree, taken down slowly by the pattern of time and the intolerance of man as well as hunger for power. Her children will bear the heavy burden of carrying the responsibility of ruling a country one day. She was willing to accept that. Not only because that was the deal between her and Pein for her permission to keep the children, because this wasn't about her own feelings or emotions and thought about children. This was what would be best for the country she left behind for the Akatsuki. She wanted Dariru to raise them. Dariru had a good ethical background, she trusted that girl more than anyone to take good care of them if she didn't make it through labor.

"Hikaru… Tsubaki… I might not be your mommy for long."

---

"Dariru's life is very vital for the future." Tadashi stated, examining another wall of rock and pressing around, feeling around it with his chakra. Kakuzu and Kisame walked close behind, Kisame's cheek swelling slightly from the attack from Kakuzu. He wasn't very willing about it, but Tadashi managed to talk him into leaving Ishiko alone for a while and coming back with Dariru, that is, if they manage to catch up to her by then. Kisame's brows furrowed.

"And you know this how…?" Kisame dared to ask. Tadashi's eyes widened and he backed up, hopping on one of the corners and ripping off a long band of paper, then throwing it aside. It was rigged, Kakuzu and Kisame followed suit, looking around for any sign of the short-haired girl in distress.

"Because she will be the one who may bring about the next Ninja Reformation, just like the very first ninja who brought about ninjutsu, and bring change by her teachings to the future Tsuchikage, Ishiko's child." Tadashi answered like he was answering what color the sky was. He blinked and looked at the two baffled men, smiling a little and hopping over the other side, carefully walking.

"Ishiko's having two children," Kakuzu started, spreading out his chakra to airspace now to make sensing any movement easier. Tadashi looked back and winced physically, which made Kakuzu narrow his eyes in suspicion.

"What do you know Tadashi?" The tan man asked in a mere growl. Tadashi hummed, glancing around quickly and getting out a kunai and sticking it in the ground, running his chakra through deactivating a mine trap.

"There's two possibilities to that, it really can go either way." Tadashi answered, his face seemingly darkened by the night sky. Kisame's attention seemed to perk as well. Tadashi glanced around again, and both men followed.

"Well, the first prophecy is that Tsuwa-senpai… passes away during birth, but Miss Dariru raises them. And then the other possibility is that…" His eyes shifted and Kakuzu felt an unknown feeling of maternity take over. This was his children they were talking about here. Kakuzu walked closely to the young prophet grabbing his thin shoulder while trying not to break it on contact and Tadashi yelped.

"What is the other possibility?" Tadashi glanced to the side.

"L-Listen, you don't understand the responsibilities of a prophet. I already told you guys enough by saying Dariru's fate and Ishiko's, I'm saying too much by telling you about the twins." Tadashi said quickly. Kisame shrugged.

"Are the Prophet Police going to come get you?" Kisame mocked; a dissatisfied tone in his voice. But they all went silent, hearing an explosion go off, lighting up the sky for a split second and Kisame's face twisted into horror. All men paused and they focused on the other side of the ravine, a little ways away. There was no sound besides the sound of crumbling rock and Tadashi started to murmur something, and grabbed his face.

"Dariru…" Kisame breathed.

"Shit. She set one off. An explosion that big, the Iwa Guard has to be coming soon." Tadashi said hurriedly. Kisame shook his head and glared at him.

"We're not leaving without Dariru." Tadashi jumped from foot to foot.

"I wasn't planning to, but with Tsuwa-senpai so far behind…" He said quickly it was hard to keep up with his words. Kakuzu stepped forward.

"I'll go back for her, you know this ravine better than anyone, you go and help Kisame find Dariru and drag her by her hair if need be." Kakuzu volunteered. Tadashi nodded and looked towards where the explosion was urgently. This was bad; this meant they had to practically walk through a minefield blindfolded while being chased by enemy ninja. Kisame nodded quickly, and he grabbed Tadashi rushing towards where the explosion went off. Kakuzu watched them for a second, and then turned around. Something told him this was going to be troublesome.

---

Deidara never really liked Keisuke. That much was for sure, and with his recent actions against his two dear little sisters, he was pissed off even more than before. And it wasn't like he was going to forgive Itachi either. He hadn't slept well in days. Dariru was gone, and so was Ishiko. He didn't exactly mind Kisame and Kakuzu not being there, though the base was rather empty without all of them. There was only Zetsu and Konan and that doctor around. Karin followed the doctor around like a leech, and Hidan was off on a mission. Without Dariru around, he didn't see hair or hide of Suigetsu around and he hardly ever saw Sasuke at all so that much hadn't changed.

"Deidara-san." A voice called in, and the blonde recognized it as Dr. Keirei. The doctor walked in with Karin right by his side.

"Keirei, un?" Even the doctor had bags around his eyes. He supposed it was the natural care between patient and doctor. But Ishiko was probably a special case. With her disease and now being gone for about a week, it was worrisome alright. But he found some relief in knowing Dariru was there.

"I have a few questions, since you know Ishiko-san so well." Deidara shifted in his seat at the dinner table.

"Do you know her bloodline well?" That was an understatement. Deidara knew everything about the girl's bloodline. He was a guard of hers, since he also had a kekkei genkai and all. Not that she knew or anything.

"I guess, un." Deidara answered shrugging. Karin pushed her glasses up.

"Don't give Dr. Keirei vague answers! It's either a no or a yes!" She scolded. Keirei rolled his eyes, even though Karin couldn't see it. She almost seemed concerned, except for the fact it was more than obvious the red head was just sucking up.

"Her Father came from a line of pure-blood only. Her Grandfather, Tomoe married his own cousin and had about six children. All five were assassinated except for Takari. He was the youngest but most prized out of all the kids. He didn't like the high-life and married a foreigner who entered the country from Konoha. I have no idea about her though, I never bothered to look into her, but if anything Ishiko's blood line limit is very strong in her." Deidara revealed. Karin wore a look of disgust.

"He married his own cousin?!" She yelped like she was burned. Deidara rolled his eyes at her. Obviously she had no respect or understanding of a good pedigree. She was probably a mutt herself. His own father married his second-cousin. And he turned out fine if he said so himself. Keirei nodded in understanding and wrote it down on his tablet. He must have been going through blood work files and from what Ishiko had told him; seeing what were the chances of the children having the kekkei genkai that would be their life-ticket in the eyes of Pein.

"And so he married a foreigner, did she have any special abilities of her own?" Keirei said, looking back at Deidara. The blonde shook his head, though he wasn't sure himself. But Deidara knew where the doctor was going with this. He was worried the Mother had any conflicting kekkei genkai Ishiko could be carrying in her blood stream.

"No, she wasn't a ninja, she was a stay-at-home mother." Deidara tried not to wince at that. Everyone in Iwa knew why she was a stay at home Mother. So she can beat her kids in secret because of her eroded mind. Keirei didn't need to know that much though. It was really none of his business, and only a few selected Akatsuki member knew, and the rest only suspected by how many times she showed up with bandages and light bruises. If she showed up with even minor injuries, they all knew she was beat to a pulp, much to a point where even her kekkei genkai had trouble healing or simply gave up all together. Dariru was the only one who ever seemed to acknowledge it though, while the rest only winced and kept silent. Dariru was the one who ever said anything about it.

"That's all I needed for now, thank you for your time." Keirei bowed quickly and left, Karin followed directly behind him, any closer and her pelvis would have been attached to his tailbone. Deidara nodded and returned to his dazing.

He really missed them both.

---

"You might not have to be a 'mommy' at all." Ishiko stilled at the voice, and only moved her eyes feeling cold metal edge against her back. She recognized the voice. And that only made things worse.

"You're wearing such nice clothes, what's somebody like you doing all the way out here?" He asked. Ishiko slowly raised her hands, she didn't have time for this, but her heart skipped a beat knowing they were only here because Dariru must have set off a trap. And if she set off a trap, she may be hurt.

"We're on the same side here." Ishiko murmured, trying to keep her voice strong. The kunai jabbed her back and she held her breathe. Another Iwa Guard stood in front of her, a younger one. He didn't recognize her, but he wore a glare.

"Shut up," He warned.

"Now, listen, I'm Iwagakure too-" The newer Tsuchikage must have been reckless, these new ninja were careless ad this one threw the kunai and she yelped as it hit her palm.

"I said to shut up!" He yelled. Ishiko went down to her knees, protectively holding the bulge in her stomach and glaring up at the young one. She managed to twist her head to look up at Ren. His blue eyes widened at her face.

"Ishiko-san??" He questioned and he looked at the others, raising his free hand.

"Hold! It's one of the Tsuwa's." Only a couple of the obviously older ones stopped in awe, while the younger ones stopped and looked around in confusion. There must have been at least ten. Ren crouched down, helping Ishiko help and he looked at the one who injured her.

"You! You'll be hearing it from me later! You just attacked the natural heir to the Tsuchikage throne!!" He hollered and the younger ninja Guard looked down in guilt. Then he finally looked down at Ishiko.

"Ishiko-san I haven't heard from you since you practically went rogue, so much has changed." Ishiko really wanted to hear what happened, she hardly entered Iwa anymore, and her social life there was practically dead. But she knew now was not the time. She brought her hand up and patted her old teammate's shoulder and shook her head.

"Now's not the time Ren, one of my friends is suicidal, she's in the ravine." Ishiko said and Ren looked down at her in shock then he looked over in the Ravine.

"At night? Doesn't she know how dangerous it is!?" He said in alarm. But then he shook his head and looked at the rest of the Guard.

"The Guard will now serve you in any way you like; you are the true Tsuchikage, not the one right now. It would have been Lord Tomoe's wishes." He looked around and slowly, one by one the older Guard bowed down, and the younger ones followed in suit. Ishiko was a little surprised. She thought her family was hated throughout the village. But she guessed the rule now was so horrible, the people missed the old rulers. But she decided to take any sort of help she can get. The Guard knew the Ravine inside out; they knew how to deactivate traps even in the dark.

"Then go! Find my friend, she has short hair and assist two Akatsuki's member and an ex-ANBU member in finding her as well! Go!" Ren followed the order and he waved a couple to go, they disappeared in a mere flicker and only him and two older ones remained.

"We will stay and assist you, since you…" He glanced down at her stomach that was nearly impossible to hide now. Ishiko smiled gratefully. So she still had help after all.

"Who's the father?" Ren asked, even though he knew he wouldn't like the answer. Ishiko smiled as he sat her down carefully, the other Guard crouching all around her.

"My ex-fiancé and one of the Akatsuki members." Ren's eyebrows raised slightly and he shook his head with a slight chuckle.

"Ishiko you know better than to involve yourself with one of those kinds of people." Ren said and sat down next to her, he still looked the same to her. The same young boy who used to pretend to be mean to her to fit in with the other kids. But she always saw his kindness bleed through; he left her a lunch when she forgot hers, and stayed around for 'extra-training' when she was left out of training so he could helped her and often times he let her cheat of his papers during tests. But once they graduated. They didn't see each other again since. Until now. And he didn't change one bit, only his height that was covered in the Iwagakure Jounin uniform.

"Is your hand okay?" One of the female Guards asked urgently, perking up a little. Ishiko showed her the palm that was now healed and the female smiled back.

"We apologize…" Ren started but stopped when they all heard scuffling and all got up with kunai and shuriken ready to fire any enemy with weapons. But when an Akatsuki cloak made itself visible by the fire, Ishiko looked back.

"Ishiko, who are these people?" Kakuzu's low voice grumbled. He was trying to be calm. Ren apparently took it the negative way. He glared and bit his tongue, trying to keep from yelling.

"Ren, please tell Kakuzu I'm not going with him." Ishiko spoke loudly. Ren looked back and nodded.

"Ishiko-sama says she is not going with you-"

"I heard her you little brat." Kakuzu spoke to him with narrowed eyes.

* * *

I wrote this one when my internet was out. I wrote practically the whole chapter.


	57. Chapter 57

I really want to see 'The Wolfman'. I might be able to. Reviews are much appreciated and I think this may be one of the longest chapters we wrote.

* * *

Chapter 57

Ren glared at the tense Kakuzu, the fellow Iwagakure guards standing in posed anticipation, ready to attack should the need arise. "I'll ask you again," Kakuzu growled, "who are you people?"

Ren eyed the taller man suspiciously before answering, "Iwagakure guards." The moment the tan Akatsuki member took a step forward, there kunai blades pressing against his skin and shuriken stars aimed at his throat. He stood still, giving the guards a sense of comfortable dominance; however he made sure the other man in front of him could see the knowing glare in his eyes. Ren shifted uncomfortably and nodded towards Ishiko, "We serve only Ishiko-sama, the true Tsuchikage."

An amused chuckle came from Kakuzu, "Sounds like your new leader isn't doing a very good job." The only answer he received was a glare and a twitch of the lip from the guard. It made Kakuzu chuckle more from the sight. Power could corrupt a man in the worse ways, especially if that man were in charge of an entire country.

Ren held out a hand to Ishiko, which she accepted, and helped her to stand up. The girl gripped her stomach and seemed to lean against the guard purposefully. Kakuzu had to clench his hands into fists and dug his heels into the rocky floor to keep himself calm. Ishiko looked up at the guard and said, "We should follow your men. They may need our help if they get to my friend before the other Akatsuki member does." The man nodded and paused when Ishiko walked toward Kisame's folded cloak. The moment she tried to bend down to pick it up, one of the guards got it for her and handed it to her. She thanked the man and held the cloak beneath her arm.

"What happens if they get there before the other Akatsuki guy?" One of the older guards asked.

"We were told you guys might be our enemy," Kakuzu answered, glaring challengingly at the guard as they began to follow Ishiko and Ren. "If he finds our 'enemy' messing with his injured woman, he'll have a fit."

* * *

As Kisame followed Tadashi through the ravine in an agonizingly slow pace, he could only think about one person and prayed to whichever deity may listen that she would be alive. Tadashi paused for a moment before shaking his head and continuing forward. The smell of burnt stone became stronger with every step they took. When a pile of shattered and cracked rocks appeared, Kisame was the first to jump on the pile. A rock gave in from under his foot, making the man slide down the pile, but he ignored it; he just grabbed fistful after fistful of rock before tossing it aimlessly aside.

Tadashi leaped onto the ground and began to help in the search until he heard multiple sets of voices. The voices weren't very far from their position, which made the young man switch into assassin mode. He climbed over the pile, ignoring his blue companion's hurried breaths and winces, and peered down. There appeared to be two figures huddled around a still figure, but it didn't take an idiot to realize the still human was Dariru.

"Is she still alive?" One of the figures whispered.

The other shrugged, "No idea. You think we should move her?"

Tadashi looked over his shoulder and hissed, "Kisame!" The blue man didn't answer. "Kisame!" The young man tried again and even threw a rock at the man's head. It hit him, and it made Kisame look up and snarl. "Dariru is down there!" He pointed urgently at where she was before watching the two strangers bend down to do something to the unconscious girl.

Tadashi had no clue Kisame was next to him until he heard him yell, "Get away from her!" Without hesitation, the man jumped from the rock pile and landed next to one of the figures. It was a female guard of some sort, but the man didn't care. He lashed out at the woman with a fist, which she dodged, before swinging Samehada at the second figure. The two guards did not counter-attack, which surprised Tadashi, but the fact didn't seem to register as suspicious in Kisame's mind.

The blue man placed Samehada down and cupped the still girl's face gently. "Dariru?" he called her name; but when he received no response he became more determined to wake her. "Dariru! Wake up!" He shook her by the collar of her tank-top and even bent down to bite her shoulder violently. When Tadashi slid slowly down the pile, the guards made no move to stop him when he advanced towards the huddled blue man. Kisame's back was shaking, and at first the young man thought it was from fear; but when he got closer he heard the pained sobs that were coming from hunched over man. He couldn't decide whether to feel awkward or feel pity. This was an S-ranked criminal and he was crying over a possibly dead body; it wasn't like he hadn't seen one before.

But this body was different. This was the body that had cared for the blue man when the rest of the world was too afraid to. She must have been some form of light in his world, and now it was burning out. As far as either of them knew, there was nothing they could do to rekindle her.

Tadashi walked over to the male guard, never letting his senses lower, and whispered, "Are you our enemy?"

The guard didn't look at the young man when he spoke, "No. Ishiko-sama told us to find the girl and assist an Akatsuki member and an ex-ANBU." It was then that the man raised an eyebrow at Tadashi, "Are you the ex-ANBU?"

With a nod, he added, "Any idea where she's hurt?"

"There's a chunk of rock wedged into her, just below the left ribcage. We don't know how far it went, and we're afraid to pull it out without proper medical equipment. If we do, she may bleed to death before the night's over."

Tadashi stared down at Kisame as the man held her as close to his body as he possibly could with just one useful arm. He wondered how badly the Akatsuki member was taking it in. Not only was his lover dying, but he must think that it was his fault she got herself into this. If he had only stayed calm and had talked it over with her...she could have been saved. They both could have.

As Kisame gripped the back of her head and buried his face into the crook of her neck, a rasping noise sounded near his ear. As he strained to hear it, he realized the noise was a single sentence: "I'm sorry." He lifted his head and looked at the cut and bruised face of his lover. Her eyes were half-way open and seemed to be staring at nothing in particular. "I'm sorry..." she rasped out quietly and weakly. "I sorry for everything..."

Immediately the man started shaking his head, "No. No, Dariru, don't be sorry. Don't be sorry for anything. It wasn't your fault." He placed his forehead against hers, feeling relieved she was alive but also terrified that she may not be a part of the living for long. "It has never been your fault."

"I love you..." She managed to say as the world became blurry once more. Kisame's breath caught in his throat as she continued, "I'm so sorry I hurt you...I love you..." He had to bite his lip to keep himself calm as he watched the girl's eyes begin to droop down.

"Stay awake," He pleaded, shaking her enough to keep her eyes open. "Stay awake! Keep your eyes open, Dariru!" Had his other arm be useful, he would be forcing her eyelids open, but all he could do was shake her. "I love you! Stay here, I love you!" He hugged her close and couldn't help but let a sob out with his face buried in her collarbone. ""Don't go...please don't go..."

The female guard took a few hesitant steps towards the blue man. "Excuse me?" She tried to get his attention while keeping her voice down. "We should probably start going now...I'm sure if we hurry we could--" She reached a hand out towards the two, but whether it was directed at Kisame or Dariru, no one was really sure. All they knew was that her hand was close enough for Kisame to bite it, which he did. The female guard cried out in pain and shock, instinctively trying to pull herself out of the tight bond the pointed teeth had her in.

When Tadashi and the girl's partner advanced in an attempt to help, the blue man yanked his head to the side, creating a sickening ripping and popping sound. Another agonizing screech erupted from her mouth as she stumbled back, cradling her bleeding hand and sobbing. Kisame spat the fingers he had ripped off of her out of his mouth, not bothering to wipe the blood from his lips with anything.

"What the hell is your problem!?" The young man scolded him, "She was only trying to help!"

Kisame glared at the two guards with the most vicious look on his face. "They're the ones who set the traps. It's their fault she's dying! Why should I trust any of them? Didn't you warn us about the guards!? We should be ripping out their spines and breaking their bones bit by bit!" Though the young ex-ANBU assumed the sudden behavior of the Akatsuki member was because of the condition of his lover, it was still quite shocking to hear the savageness in his tone. Had the man not be occupied with Dariru, Tadashi had no doubt in his mind that Kisame would rip out their spines.

Tadashi stepped a little closer to the man, but not close enough to be bitten, and said, "She had a good point Kisame. If we hurry up to the Northern Base, Dariru will be able to get proper care."

He seemed to ponder the idea for a moment before spitting out, "No! She'll be dead before we get there...we have to wait."

"Wait!?" The young man mocked, "For what?! A miracle?"

"Kakuzu," Kisame answered. "He can stop the bleeding long enough for us to get to the base."

"N-no..." Dariru rasped out, "don't...de...serve...to live...let...me....die." The plead made both men stiffen for a moment' but apparently, Kisame had a way around it.

The blue man looked at her face and said, "You think you deserve anything bad that happens to you? Because of what that bastard did to you?" She nodded very slowly. He licked his bloody lips and took a deep breath as if the next words were an effort to say. "The guilt hurts you doesn't it? More than you could ever imagine? Well, like you keep telling yourself, you deserve it. Letting you die is the easy way out. I'm going to keep you alive so I can keep loving you while that guilt eats at you every day." A small smile appeared on the girl's face as she stared up at the blue man who held her tightly.

"I...love...you," she managed one more time, making her lover grin sadly. It was what he used to call an inevitable lie. He used to tell other ninja on the field that too. He used to have to hold dying, bleeding brethren on the field and tell them they'd be okay. That they'd be able to go home and see their wives and children they left behind in the Second Great Ninja War. But they didn't see themselves bleeding and pale before their eyes. After a while, he had gotten tired of it. He wouldn't say anything, but just leave them to bleed to death. He had begun to tire to see people who he had shared the same birthplace with died, no matter the circumstance. And eventually he had learned to simply live with it. But he knew for a fact, he wouldn't be able to handle this loss. Out of all the deaths he saw, this one was one he couldn't bear.

"You'll be alright." He wasn't sure of that. He hated this uneasiness. He could imagine life without Dariru. Dariru's chest raised barely now, and she managed a weak twitch of her lip. Kisame assumed it was supposed to be a smile. _Smile for me again, please. You know if it'll be okay. Be optimistic again. Spew bullshit that'll never happen, and I'll believe you. _Kisame mentally urged and brushed a lock of matted hair up. The damage was horrible. Her forehead was covered in sweat and blood. As well as her neck. He looked her over again, and the blood soaking in her clothes was just getting worse.

"God…" He grimaced, forcing himself to look away. He could handle this. He was used to blood. He finally looked up, and the Guards that were once standing close, looking at the spectacle they backed away like he were diseased. There had to be at least more than five. They all glanced at each other, still frightened. It must have been his appearance, it's always been his appearance.

"Fine. We'll wait." Tadashi assured, giving Kisame a sense of comfort. Since Dariru was bleeding so mercilessly, it seemed the right thing to do and give him some sense of relief. But then he turned to one of the Guards, another female.

"You, go back and warn Tsuwa-senpai of what has happened, I'm sure she'd want to know." Tadashi said regretfully. To be honest, he felt a little guilty. Such news to Ishiko in her state of mind was a bad thing, but she needed to know. She may know what to do. At least he hoped she would. The Guard nodded quickly and headed back, jumping from side to side of the ravine and gaining rapid speed.

* * *

Ishiko winced again, stopping as muscles inside her contracted. Ren stopped and the older Guard stood by as well, ready to help if needed. Kakuzu had to restrain himself from jumping to his rightful place by her side as well. But he had to repeat her heart-piercing words again to keep himself from doing so. She left him. They were no longer engaged.

"Don't mind me, we have to get to Dariru-chan, if she's hurt I'll never forgive myself." Ishiko growled out. Two of the Guards exchanged looks, and finally looked at Ren.

"Don't kid yourself here Ishiko-sama, you're…" He couldn't complete his sentence, but looked at her bulging stomach. She didn't notice.

"I can heal, Dariru doesn't have the same benefactor." Ishiko and the female Guard smiled while flushing.

"She's so modest!" She whispered to the older one. Kakuzu rolled his eyes.

"Ren-sama!! Ren-sama!!" From a distance, they could see another Guard, running very quickly for any normal ninja and they all continued, seeing it was one of their own. Ren looked interested if not alarmed.

"Aramu!" Ren called back as the little girl reached them.

"It's Ishiko-sama's friend! She's down, she sustained an injury that's potentially fatal if we don't-"

Ishiko could feel her world slowly become undone. Dariru couldn't be hurt. This was something her mind was conjuring up. She couldn't lose Dariru. Out of all the females Ishiko had ever encountered Dariru was the only one that it was hard to lie to. In her spy career, she had learned never to get close to anybody because sooner or later you'd need something from them and end up hurting them. She could never find it in herself to use Dariru for anything. To deceive her. Ishiko stepped forward, ignoring her own pain.

"Bring me to her, right away." She could fix this. It had never been tested before, but she was willing to do anything that would possibly, even if the chance was slim, help Dariru. The girl was a natural light, the Akatsuki couldn't lose. The female looked at her for a moment, baffled.

"Ishiko-sama you really don't have to, to be honest-"

"I gave you a command, are you really in any position to oppose me?" Ishiko's tone drastically changed. But the female was taken back and shook her head quickly.

"N-No, I apologize Ishiko-sama." Aramu turned, glancing at Ishiko still was hesitation in her eyes.

"Alright then, let's hurry."

* * *

Kisame was completely unaware of the newcomers if not for Tadashi's delighted squeal. He looked up to glare at the man but quickly turned. Kakuzu had arrived. Dariru's shallow breathing thumped against his muscled arms, but he refused to look back down, the only thing he was able to handle right now was kissing her forehead and brushing her hair with his fingers. Kisame eyes the little Ishiko clinging to a new man for dear life though.

"She's over there." Ishiko's undirected eyes landed on Dariru and then widened to the size of saucers.

"Dariru." She sped forward, but a little too quickly, her balance was lost and she went forward much too quickly, but Ren caught her instantly. Ishiko didn't bother to thank him.

"Kisame listen to me, I need you to let me get to her." Ishiko spoke sternly. But Kisame wasn't about to take it.

"No, it's your fault she's like this." Ishiko mentally winced but ignored the comment.

"We don't have time for this," She advanced anyway and much to the horror of the surrounding Guard.

"I have a plan, Tadashi." Tadashi stood in attention as soon as his name was called by his mistress. Ishiko was, for some reason, doing up her sleeve of the ruined kimono.

"Yes?" He asked.

"What would happen if somebody were to ingest my blood?" Tadashi was a bit baffled by the question but he decided to answer anyway since it was her who was asking. Kisame looked up in question as well.

"I'm not sure. I'm guessing it would give them the same healing properties for as long as that blood cell lives, but it's never been tried before and since Tsuwa's heal quickly it's never been tried to ingest blood from someone who never really bleeds-"

He stopped suddenly, looking at Ishiko in alarm. He seemed to have figured out her plan and advanced towards her in protest. Ren seemed to have done the same and the rest of the Guard looked at Dariru in admiration.

"What the fuck are you talking about you little spy?" Kisame snarled. Ishiko ignored him, and made her way to Dariru ignoring his deadly glare and the tensed look from all the Guard.

"She'll need to keep re-opening the wound, but if she digests my blood, it might help a lot. Even help her survive the night." Kisame was about to say something else towards her but Ishiko seemed to have snapped right then and there.

"Are you seriously going to reject any idea that might really benefit her!? She's in a delicate condition right now we can't not take any chance we have of helping her!!" Ishiko yelled. Ren was about to say something as well, but Tadashi silenced him and stepped forward.

"She's right Kisame-san, we need to try all possibilities." Kisame bit his tongue and looked down at his love. He was willing. If it meant saving Dariru in anyway, then he was willing to allow it, and with a sigh he opened his arms a little wider, giving Ishiko access. Ishiko gave him a stern look and finally looked down at Dariru, smoothing over her hair and smiling.

"Dariru-chan?" She seemingly sang. Dariru managed to lightly open her eyes.

"Ishiko?" Dariru croaked and Ishiko lost a little glimmer in her eyes at hearing the weak tone.

"I'm going to need you to do something Dariru-chan, you need to gnaw at me." Dariru's eyes opened halfway, which normally would be her opening her eyes wide with surprise. But Ishiko assured her with a smile and presented the underside of her forearm.

"Just drink my blood, but you need to keep opening the wound so just bite and bite!" She sounded like she was trying to encourage a kid at a soccer game. Except she was trying to encourage her friend to gnaw at her flesh like some cannibal. Dariru seemed to have understood though, trusting Ishiko like a sister. She looked at the tan arm and weakly grabbed it, biting her friend. Ishiko winced at first, Kisame thought everyone who was watching winced. Finally Tadashi turned and ripped a piece of cloth from a female Guard and wrapped it up, and handed it to Ishiko. She gratefully took it and stuffed it in her mouth, silencing her small whimpers of pain.

"That Dariru is so lucky! Drinking the blood of a Tsuwa! I wish I were her!" Aramu whispered.

"I think everyone does, she has to be pretty important for Ishiko-sama to go that far for her." An older one murmured. They all went silent though as Ishiko cried into the cloth, looking away and hissing, but continued to let her shaking arm be chewed by her friend. It was for the best. Kisame looked at Dariru. Her color, or what color she had, was starting to return.

Soon, Dariru pulled her blood-stained mouth away from the girl's arm, taking in long and loud breaths of air as if she had been drowning just moments ago. Ishiko rubbed at the lingering pain in her arm, but sighed as the wound healed quickly and at the sight of her friend breathing better than before. The short-haired girl coughed a few times, some more of her own precious blood trickling from the corners of her mouth, mixing with Ishiko's, but it stopped as quickly as it began. There was a wide smile of joyous relief on Kisame's face as he looked down at the wounded girl, who turned her head to Ishiko.

"Thank you...my friend..." The short-haired girl smiled with half-closed eyes. Ishiko couldn't help but return the smile; now that the girl was alright, she felt a heavy weight lift from her shoulders.

"She's not done yet," Tadashi interrupted, "there's still that rock in her." He glanced at his mistress and nodded at her belly, "Not to mention Ishiko-sama's current condition, it'd be best if we started making our way to the Base."

* * *

Burn Notice is so cool.


	58. Chapter 58

Sorry for the long wait everyone, teachers have been loading me with homework and Blood Thirsty Me has a project going on that she needed to focus on.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Both Ishiko and Kisame were a little hesitant at first, but after Ishiko agreed, Kisame did too. He refused to thank Ishiko though, since it was her fault to start with that Dariru was this injured. But he didn't say anything. Dariru's breathe was less labored, but it was still hard to move her. A couple of the Guard agreed to help, and one brought out some emergency supplies and they arranged a lift together. Ren held Ishiko close, keeping her steady. Ishiko didn't seem to care, nor think anything of, for her face remained serious and her face was flushed from the fact her friend was just gnawing at her arm earlier. Her arm still shook and she held it close to her. Kakuzu wished to hold her and comfort her. He knew better than anyone it must have been hard to do, even if for Dariru. The violent act must have shaken her certainly, and the fact there was still no immediate results other than the healing cuts and regained color.

But he knew; Ren might be the best thing for her right now despite his pierced heart.

"How long can that last her?" Ishiko shivered. The Guard lifted Dariru, and started to advance but Tadashi looked at her in surprise.

"Tsuwa-senpai you're in no condition to-"

"How long will that last her?" Ishiko interrupted, even more sternly. Tadashi immediately shut his mouth.

"A couple of days, until those blood cells she drank die." Ishiko stilled for a moment, letting the words sink in and she felt the twins kick. Finally she nodded and willed her legs to move.

"That's all."

---

The troop moved as fast as they could through the darkness; two experienced guards were always ahead, checking for traps to avoid or disarm. The whole time, Kakuzu would steal some glances of Ishiko, his hearts squeezing together uncomfortably every time. Ren kept her close in a protective manner, helping the pregnant girl over boulders or catching her when she lost balance. It was killing the tan man slowly from the inside so much that he wanted to get away. He wanted to just run off into the darkness and hope to never see her face again. Rational thinking kept his legs at a steady walking pace, though he still wanted to leave the group. Perhaps if he were gone for a long time Ishiko would miss him and then take him back? In fact, why should he stick around? They were no longer together, and therefore she was no longer his obligation. He could go back to Main Base and never go back to her.

The idea hit him suddenly, and it made his hearts beat thankfully for it. Doctor Keirei would not be at the Northern Base; in fact, no one would be with the possible exception of one of Pein's other bodies or even Madara himself. Someone would have to go fetch the doctor sooner or later. So why not now when they had a heavy-bleeder on their hands?

The stitched man walked next to Tadashi and stated simply, "I'm going to the Main Base."

Tadashi turned to him quickly with a look of exasperation, "WHAT!? WHY!?" Everyone paused and stared at the two, all of them wondering what had happened to make the ex-ANBU shriek out. Everyone except for Ishiko...

The young man clasped a hand over his mouth and gave Kakuzu an apologetic look. The older man just sighed and turned to the bewildered crowd. "I'm not going to the Northern Base," a few guards gave him surprised looks, and he noticed Ishiko's head turn just slightly in his direction. Perhaps there was still hope for them? "There's a doctor in the Main Base," Kakuzu explained, "I can go get him and bring him to the Northern Base. He can take care of any injury...and other conditions." He added and noticed the girl's hand rub her bulging tummy in thought.

Ren was the first to speak, "Are you sure this doctor is reliable?"

"Do you know how to deliver a baby?" Kakuzu snapped, glaring at the guard before glancing at an impatient Kisame. "Besides, that doctor might be able to close up a wound better than I can."

It was Tadashi who spoke in favor of the plan, "What have we got to lose? It's not we're wasting time just standing still, wondering if getting a doctor is a good plan or not." A few guards began to nod in agreement, but Ren didn't avert his gaze from the tan Akatsuki member.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" Kisame spoke, standing next to his weak lover, "Get going!"

Kakuzu hesitated a few moments. He was waiting for some, any kind of reaction from Ishiko. He was silently waiting for her to protest in some way of him leaving. But such a thing didn't come. But seeing at how she didn't even shift her eyes to look at him it spoke enough on her behalf. She was just angry. It'll blow over. Soon enough she'll be begging for him to come back to her. It was just pressure of her being pregnant is all; he assured himself. She was just having a little difficulty seeing what was best for her. But she finally looked up, glancing over at him with that clueless look. She was looking at him like he was a stranger. His mouth shut and his eyes shifted away. He wasn't sure now what would happen if he stared at her too long.

"I'll catch up with Keirei." Kakuzu said and turned, trying to rip his eyes away from his ex. She'll come to her senses soon enough. And they'll be a family. His family. Not Ren's, not Tadashi's and hell not Deidara's.

"Alright, we'll be waiting!" Tadashi waved back enthusiastically. Kakuzu could feel a small lump of disappointment. It would have been cuter if Ishiko was the one waving to him, telling him she'd wait forever for him to come back. Ishiko felt her heart clench, and unconsciously lifted her hand over the middle of her chest.

"Anything wrong?" Ren called. Ishiko blinked quickly and looked at him with an assuring smile. But before she could tell him anything Kisame flashed Ishiko a glare. She automatically shut her mouth and started walking, with the support of Ren of course.

"Let's go!!" Kisame yelled furiously. Ishiko quickly nodded to acknowledge him and he finally turned his undying attention back to his beloved. Ren looked at her again, assisting her over a stub.

"I can see your face, I know something is wrong." Ren admitted with a light smile. Ishiko couldn't bring herself to reflect the same action. But she chose not to look at the blonde anyway. His curls bounced as he talked.

"Miss Ishiko-sama, you can tell me anything you like; I'm sworn to secrecy to you." He assured her if she was feeling he may leak secrets. Ishiko still looked a little uneasy. Any woman who just dumped her fiancé for about a year while pregnant would feel a little uneasy. Ignoring him was one thing. Seeing him walk away was another thing. Her brown eyes glanced over to Ren's darker green ones and winced.

"It's nothing." She tried, but nothing was going past the captain of the Iwa Guard. Kisame glanced back and Ishiko shut her mouth, looking down as a small act of submission so he wouldn't snap as the Guard holding Dariru on the cot maneuvered easily over rocks and rubble. They were maybe a day away from the base, but then again, if Kakuzu was alone he would be able to hurry over to the central base and simply use a transportation jutsu to go to the Northern. Then her eyes focused on Dariru's half-conscious body on the cot.

"To be honest, things have really turned downhill. Just look at it, I'm pregnant with twins and my best friend is injured and even I can't do anything about it. Helpless is frustrating." Ishiko said monotonously. Ren seemed to have a logical face and his eyes looked over to the all-famous Dariru who was apparently worthy and important enough to be the first person to ever drink the blood of a Tsuwa. To be honest, he was sort of creeped out by it, but he was never a big fan of vampirism. But he couldn't help but glance at her enlarged stomach. He would definitely believe she was having twins, and her breasts were so huge!

"I guess I can see what you mean, but we'll take good care of Lady Dariru, she's a friend of yours after all, and Tadashi-sama seems to have taken a liking to her." Ren said, referring to the way Tadashi was buzzing around her like a fly to light. Ishiko looked and she felt her jaw drop slightly. She never expected him to become so attached to the girl, but then again maybe a lot of people didn't expect her to become so close to Dariru either. Seeing Ishiko so deep in thought, Ren decided to change the subject lightly.

"So, that Akatsuki member used to be your fiancé?" Shit. Bad question. Bad question. Ishiko looked up, almost like she had been burned and she had somewhat of an accusing stare towards him, like he had been the one who had done the burning. Finally she looked to the ground, placing a careful hand on her womb.

"Yes, Kakuzu used to be my fiancé." She released a shaky breathe and Ren knew this must have been a touchy subject. Just like the fact he knew everyone wouldn't dare to bring up the fact Dariru had been gnawing at her earlier. He could still feel her arms shake against him. She couldn't do this. She looked back at Dariru. Dariru was all she had now, and she would take it and honor it. Well, she had Dariru and then she would have the twins once they were born but she knew as well as anybody that was highly unlikely. The end of the Ravine was coming up to sight.

"What… uh, happened?" Ren asked, obviously a little twitchy about the subject neither of them really wanted to know. Ishiko shook her head. No. They weren't together anymore why should it matter?

"It was just all his fault. He got me pregnant, he won't marry me, and he constantly treats me like a little kid." Ishiko wrapped up in one nice little package. She wasn't sure if some of the reasons were true, but they seemed to convince her. And that's all that mattered to her. Ren looked at her with an odd expression and she could feel his grip tighten ever so slightly. It wouldn't have been noticeable if she hadn't been pregnant.

"He's an idiot." Ren said after a small breathe. Ishiko looked back, a little perplexed by his answer. He was just comforting her. That's what people who are loyal to you do right? Then she looked back at the floor thoughtfully.

"The end is about a fourth of a mile away! We can definitely get back to the Northern base by morning!" A Guard explained, looking up from a map that Kisame had obviously given to him. Tadashi nodded approve.

"See that? We'll be fine, we'll get to your Northern Base and everything'll be alright." Ren smiled. But Ishiko didn't like his use of 'we'. There was only one 'we' in that tone Ren was using and it was a word she was trying to forget now. She decided to ignore it. It was nothing but pure concern that was all. Ren and she could never be together.

"Yeah, I guess." Ishiko answered; her tone dropping a little. Ren smiled a little more, probably even going a little faster and leading her along with him. This was good. The sooner they reached the base the sooner the process for getting Dariru out of the woods could begin. Another kick made her wince. But Ren didn't seem to notice. Kakuzu always noticed when she winced. Kakuzu always made sure she was okay, and was quite the worry-wart, even though he always tried to put on a brave face and be tough. She felt another kick. It must have been Hiraku. She had learned to differentiate the kicks. Hiraku had a strong kick, a very, very strong kick, while Tsubaki was only the one who did multiple kicks to equal the power of one of his brother's. But he had tons of stamina like his father.

---

Kakuzu had forgotten just how annoying the doctor was until he made it to the base as quickly and as out of breathe as he could. As soon as he entered it was there was some silent alarm that he was back, and that there was trouble. Which there was, but it still was a little insulting that they automatically assumed that. Deidara had spotted him first and his jaw dropped right to the floor.

"Why are you back alone? Did something happen, un!?" Deidara asked urgently. Kakuzu only grunted an answer. The blonde didn't need to know. He would only make things even more complicated and take Ishiko's side as usual. He was bad enough when he was angry about the fact that they were together. But he only held back because he didn't want to face Ishiko's wrath. Deidara was rebellious enough to go against Kakuzu even though he knew full well Kakuzu had more than enough capability to kick his ass again and again. He ignored the bomber and walked straight towards the small clinic-like area. Keirei looked up immediately, tuning out the red-head who was chatting up a storm.

"Kakuzu-san! Ishiko's fiancé correct?" Keirei questioned with a somewhat scolding look on his face. Karin looked up in mild annoyance this man was breaking Keirei's attention. Kakuzu felt the label scorch his chest. But he chose not to acknowledge it in any way. And Keirei simply continued.

"She hasn't taken any opium in weeks!" He exclaimed. It's really only been maybe less than two weeks.

"Check ups are due! She may need some supplies she's in the three-month factor she should be under strict bed rest or _very _serious problems may occur! She hasn't had any exercises! Twins are always harder to deliver and she has no clue! I've been meaning to put her on a strict diet to help her get her vitamins..." Keirei rambled, waving his arms about and checking sheets that were as old as he started collecting information about the pregnancy. Kakuzu only stood there, waiting for the right time when the doctor would finally stop and ask why he was there without Ishiko. He had no idea why. Normally he would have just dragged the doctor along to the jutsu room and transport over to the Northern base. He just wanted to tell somebody. Finally Keirei stopped and looked around.

"Where _is_ Ishiko?" Keirei finally asked after being handed a paper from Karin. Kakuzu was a little amazed, but the office was all silent except for the small ticking of the clock on the wall. Karin looked around like she just noticed as well and gave him a small shrug.

"She left me." Kakuzu scowls at the face Karin makes. She rolled her eyes like it was something he was being overdramatic about. Like it was no big deal. Keirei is the one who looked totally perplexed and taken by surprised.

"She did!? Did she seem okay? You _must tell _me all the details!" He sounded like a teenage girl asking for gossip on who's asking who to the prom.

"We have to go," Kakuzu stopped him before he could say anything more.

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Reviews are much appreciated becuase we'd like to know whether you liked the chapter or not or even suggestions.


	59. Chapter 59

Happy Valentine's day everyone!

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Chapter 59

Kakuzu walked as calmly as he could to the jutsu room as the doctor fumbled with numerous papers, trying to shove them all into his large black bag without taking them out of order. Deidara had started to tail them the moment they had emerged from the small infirmary and had asked in pure concern, "Where's Ishiko? Is she okay? What about Kisame-donna and Dariru? Where are they?" At first, the tan man wanted to ignored the blonde, mostly so he wouldn't waste any time unnecessarily, but he was willing to amuse him if it meant shutting the blonde up. He just wouldn't add too much detail.

"They're all on their way to the Northern Base," Kakuzu explained, turning a corner and almost bumped into the light blue-haired boy that had caused Dariru and Kisame problems before. Of course, the tan man didn't pay any attention to the boy, even as when the shorty snarled "Watch it old man." Had he not be on the clock, Kakuzu would have sucker-punched him, but he was and so the boy got off with just a glare.

"Doctor Keirei," Kakuzu started, "you know how to stitch someone up, right?" When the doctor answered with a "yes", the tan man continued in explaining what he should expect. "You'll need to stitch Dariru up and Kisame's shoulder needs to be looked at."

"Jesus!" Deidara hissed, "What the hell happened to get Kisame injured?"

"We fell off a cliff," Kakuzu answered before stopping in front of the jutsu room. His eyes glanced over at the stiff doctor, "Have you ever traveled via jutsu?" The man shook his head quickly; his nervousness making the tan man chuckle in dark amusement. "Just hold on, and don't let go. You may wind up somewhere else if you do." Of course, that wasn't true, but it was dark comfort to see the man squirm in discomfort. It was enough to numb the pain he was feeling for Ishiko. The two stepped into the room, making Kakuzu sigh in relief when Deidara stayed behind. However, a purple-clothed boy jumped into the room in the blonde's place.

Kakuzu glared at Suigetsu before snapping, "Get out."

The boy looked up with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. "No. You said Dariru was hurt? Well, I'm gonna help her out. It's the least I could do when she took care of me."

Without warning, the older Akatsuki member grabbed the boy by his neck and threw him out of the room before lumbering into the doorway, blocking any entrance into the room. Suigetsu recovered quickly and stood in an attack stance, now prepared for anything else the older man may do. Kakuzu crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway almost casually. "You're not coming."

"Who died and made you leader?" Suigetsu snapped back. The one the boy didn't expect was for Kakuzu to lose his temper.

"YOU'RE NOT COMING!" He bellowed, the angry voice echoing against the base's walls. Deidara, Suigetsu and Keirei stood in fearful shock. They were all so used to Ishiko calming the man down before he got this angry; but there was no long-haired girl to save them this time. Kakuzu glared down at the boy before yelling, "The last thing Dariru needs now is you! You've already caused enough problems between Kisame and Dariru; they don't need to get a surprise visit by someone who tried to ruin their relationship!" There was silence for a while before Kakuzu started to chuckle as if he had heard a joke no one else noticed. "Come to think of it kid, I'm also doing this for your own good. Kisame's not very stable now since Dariru's teetering on the edge of death. So if you show up, he just may kill you because he wants to."

Deidara's jaw dropped and his blue eye filled with concern at the news. A heavy silence hovered over Suigetsu as he considered what he was told. However, Kakuzu didn't wait for any acknowledgment from anyone; he turned and walked back into the jutsu room, ignoring the look the doctor was giving him. He didn't care what people thought of him right now; the only person he had truly cared about left him, and though he kept telling himself she would come back, there was still a large part of him that said she wouldn't.

The only words that were spoken before the Akatsuki member and doctor disappeared were the ones needed for the jutsu to be performed.

–

It had been late morning when the group had arrived at the Akatsuki's Northern Base. One of the less experienced guards tried to enter, but Kisame shoved him aside without a word. The blue man started patting his hand rhythmically against the wall as if looking for something. When he stopped, the first thing he said was, "Not all of you will come in." A few guards tried to protest, but Ren silenced them with a quick glare. The guards were silent after that.

Ishiko walked slowly up to Kisame and asked, "Do you think anyone is in there?"

The man's face was set in an angry frown, his white eyes narrowed into a glare. Ishiko had never seen him so tense and angry before, but she could only assume it was Dariru's condition that made him like this. Though the spy hadn't admitted it to anyone, she was still shaken up from having her friend gnaw at her flesh. Not to mention the fact that a small part of her wanted to have Kakuzu back; but she would never let that small feeling grow. It was all Kakuzu's fault; even if he did try to make up for all of the wrongs he had ever made just to make her happy...

She shoved the thought aside when the entrance opened. Kisame motioned for the guards carrying Dariru and Tadashi to enter before turning to Ishiko. "Pick one guard. The rest stay outside." The blue man then disappeared in the dark entrance.

Ishiko pointed to Ren, "Come with me." The leader of the Iwa guard bowed slightly before following the pregnant girl into the darkness that was the Northern Base. The entrance closed loudly the moment they had stepped into the base. This base was just like all the other bases, except for the color-scheme. There were reds and blacks everywhere, reminding Ishiko of the infamous Itachi's Sharingan.

Kisame lead the men with Dariru to the infirmary, scolding and yelling at them furiously every time they paused to stare at the insides of the base. Tadashi tried to follow, but he was just as entranced by the hideout as the guards; so he just took his time and stared at the architecture. The first thing Ishiko did was sit down on a red couch with a tired sigh. The couch was soft and very comfortable; she would have fallen asleep had Ren not spoken to her.

"Are we allowed in here?" The guard was eyeing the base in a different manner than the others had done; his stares were out of suspiciousness, not awe.

Ishiko rubbed her forehead, "Probably not." She admitted, "but I'm sure the worst thing that'll happen to us is some scolding, maybe a few hard missions, and then they'll search for a new Northern Base after destroying this one."

"What about myself? And my teammates?" Ren pressed on, "What will happen to us?"

The girl stiffened, knowing what could happen to the guards. There was a high possibility that Pein would have them all killed as to keep the base's location a secret. There was too much risk in just letting them go and trusting their word; when you're a criminal, it's hard to trust anyone in the world. The only way any of the guards could live was if they were able to provide some sort of service to the Akatsuki; after all, that was what had kept Dariru alive all these years and she had been forbidden from going back to the surface because of it. Ishiko couldn't imagine what Pein could have planned for a platoon of trained Iwa guards.

With an unsteady breath, Ishiko answered his question honestly, "I don't know. You may be killed. You may be used solely for the advantage of the Akatsuki. It's not my decision to make. And I won't be in any position to try to strike a deal with Leader-sama."

Ren sat in silence before daring to ask, "He would have killed the babies if they didn't have any use in the future, wouldn't he?" She knew he was referring to Pein, and all she could was nod as her hand rubbed her belly protectively. The man placed a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it soothingly. "Don't worry. If our fate is death, then so be it." Ishiko was a little amazed at how calm he was about all of it. She decided to look away.

"Do you swear your loyalty?" Ren blinked and nodded eagerly.

"Of course, I and the Guard will always serve you Lady Ishiko-"

"Not me." Ishiko interrupted with a small glare. Ren made a confused face.

"Dariru. Promise me you'll always watch and take care of Dariru. And my twins. My safety if of no concern, I'm not the one who will become Tsuchikage." Ishiko scowled. There was no way she'd become Tsuchikage no matter how much people may have wanted a Tsuwa back in power. Ren glowered, looking down; ashamed.

"You have no idea do you?" Ren asked quietly. His green eyes shifted away. Ishiko sighed.

"What happened to Iwagakure after my Grandfather died?" She dared to ask. Ren ran a hand through his hair.

"Onoki went mad with power. He rules like a dictator, and if you speak out your family is wiped out. He's a lazy leader and favors his own family. He has surveillance everywhere in the village. He's a war-hawk and no empathy for human life. The only one who can stand up against his power is a Tsuwa." Ren paused, finally looking up at the brown-eyes girl.

"We'll definitely protect your twins. They may be our only hope to restore order in Iwagakure." Ishiko stared for a while. She had so much to live for. She had to do this. Onoki had always been bad. In meetings whenever she was there, he would always suggest the most ridiculous solutions that would ultimately lead to war. Of course her Grandfather would shoot down the idea immediately. So it was no problem, but now perhaps because he was the Tsuchikage he must have been aiming for war with anyone, regardless of the people he would lose. Unlike her conservative Grandfather.

"Thank you."

---

Where was that doctor? Kisame questioned himself, glancing at the clock and then back to the Guard who simply stood there and watched the steady breathing of the short-haired girl. After drinking Ishiko's blood, the short-haired girl hadn't so much as twitched in her sleep. The only sign that she was still alive was her breathing, and even that was beginning to falter with every passing hour. The pain in his broken shoulder had begun to act up again, but Kisame ignored it every time; it would be fixed after Dariru was. It had been terrifying holding her in his arms, knowing that she was dying slowly and there had been nothing he could do about it. It had been so long since he had ever cried like that; he had felt so weak and defenseless. He wasn't sure if he could stand losing her. Though, he knew he didn't want anything like that to happen to her ever again; and if it meant putting himself in the line of fire then so be it.

The blue man caressed the girl's cheek slowly, brushing off bits of dirt and dried blood. A sarcastic chuckle escaped him, making the guard give him a confused look, but Kisame ignored it. The Akatsuki member found it amusing that he had tried to kill Dariru when she wouldn't stop following himself and Itachi. And now he couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt. It made him glad that he had spared her life that day; if he hadn't, he would never have known that her company was something that would excite him, calm him, and comfort him. How could he have done this to her?

He kissed her dirty forehead before resting his own against hers. "Forgive me..." he whispered to her just before he heard the infirmary door open. Immediately, Kisame stood up and saw the familiar Doctor Keirei standing in the doorway with a disgruntled Kakuzu behind him. Kisame never thought he'd be happy to see the short man before.  
Doctor Keirei's smile turned into a frown at the sight of the unconscious Dariru. He rushed to her and set his black bag on a nearby table. "What happened?" He asked, taking out a tiny flashlight before opening one of her eyelids, flashing the bright light over her none-responsive eye.

"She set off a bomb," Kisame explained, giving the doctor enough room to work even though he'd rather stay close to his lover's side. "I think there's something lodged in her, near the ribs."  
Keirei stared at her shirt before saying, "Yes, there is. I can see the large blood stain." He put away the flashlight and took out a pair of plastic gloves. "Would you lift her shirt please, Kisame-san?" The man motioned to the girl as he put on the white gloves, making a snapping sound when they were completely on. Kisame walked to the other side of the stretcher, making the guard scoot out of the way. When he tried to pull her tattered tank-top up, it caught against something. He pulled a little harder and heard the sickening sound of a thick liquid as the shirt was peeled away. Keirei made a pained "oohing" noise when the serious wound was revealed.

There was a pointed rock lodged into her body, just below the ribcage, and only a few inches of the rock protruded from the skin. Dried blood and yellow puss seemed to ooze out from the wound, the untouched skin around it bruised into various shades of purple and black. The sight made Kisame cringe and wince visibly, while the doctor bit his lower lip in frustration.

"How in the world is she still alive?" Keirei pondered aloud, digging through his bag for the proper supplies. "She should have bled to death with that sort of wound." Kisame kept staring at the wound that was killing his lover. It looked liked it was infected, making him hope the doctor had brought enough supplies. He wanted to tell the doctor what had kept Dariru alive, but his throat felt dry and his lips refused to move.

At that moment, the girl began to slowly stir. She managed to open her eyes half-way before seeing the blurred image of her lover. "Kisame?" When she called out to him, the blue man was holding her hand and looking at her face. It was such a relief to see her moving again.

"I'm here," he said, staring at her, "I'm here. Don't worry. You're going to be okay, Dariru. Doctor Keirei's here and he's going to fix you."

She furrowed her brow as best as she could in confusion. "Fix me? Wh-what do you mean?" Panic rose in her voice as she tried to sit up, "What's wrong with me? I-I thought Ishiko fixed me already--" She glanced down at herself and saw the rock and puss.

Immediately her arms gave out from under her as a shocked and terrified scream escaped her mouth. Kisame held her face with his good hand as the Doctor began to rummage through his bag for a sedative.

"Shhh, shh, shh!" Kisame tried to calm her down as she tried to pull herself from him. However, the man refused to let her go; the last time he did, she almost died. "It's okay, it's okay. You're going to be just fine, okay? Doctor Keirei is here, see?" He pointed at the doctor as the man began to fill a needle with the proper drug. "Nothing's gonna hurt you anymore Dariru. I won't let anything hurt you, not again." She seemed to calm down at his words, her weak body still shaking from what she had seen.

When the needle pierced her skin, she winced, but it was pulled out the moment it was put in. The two men waited as the drug began to take effect, making the girl's eyelids droop heavily until they were completely closed. When her breathing was regular once more, the doctor motioned towards the guard in the room. "If you would please leave. I'll need to concentrate." The guard nodded before slipping past the silent Kakuzu and out of the room. The doctor then turned to Kisame, "You may not want to be here when I start the operation. It may get bad."

The blue man shook his head, "Last time I left her this happened," he motioned towards the rock wedged inside. Keirei gave him a pleading look.

"Please Kisame-san, it'll be best for the both of us if you waited outside." Honestly, Keirei didn't like it when people watched him perform important surgeries; it made him feel stressed out and would often result in his few surgical mistakes. To have an S-ranked criminal hovering over his shoulder while he was trying to operate on the criminal's loved one would be more than stressful. He may even accidentally puncture her lung while taking the solid out. "Please, I work best when I don't have someone hovering over my shoulder." He tried once again, but the shark-like man refused to budge.

Kisame opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he felt Kakuzu's hand on his bad shoulder. "Leave Kisame. I'll come and get you when the doctor's done."

With a quick jerk, the blue man was out of the older man's grip. A quick pain jabbed at his shoulder, but he ignored it. "I'm not leaving her," he snarled through gritted teeth.

Kakuzu smirked and crossed his arms. "You sure seemed ready to leave her before the bomb went off." There was a furious roar as blue fingers wrapped themselves around Kakuzu's neck. The tan man grunted as he pulled the outraged Kisame by the roots of his hair, pulling and struggling to get him out of the infirmary. He wrapped one arm around the blue man's midsection and pulled him into the hallway, slamming the door shut to give the doctor the privacy he needed to operate. However, Kisame didn't seem to notice the change in the battlefield and was still hell-bent in causing Kakuzu serious harm.

The shark-man pushed the older one into the wall and wiggled himself out of the strong hold the stitched man had on him. He punched Kakuzu in the midsection numerous times, ignoring the hardening feeling that rapped against his knuckles. Kakuzu slammed his elbow down on his opponent's back, making the blue man drop to his knees. Fury drove the blue man on as he yanked Kakuzu's leg, causing him to fall on his back. Kisame lifted a leg and ax-kicked at the tan man's collar bone; he was rewarded with a pained grunt. Just as he began to pull his leg back, Kakuzu grabbed his ankle and twisted it until Kisame was forced to roll onto his stomach. It was then that the older man placed a knee in-between the blue man's shoulder blades, causing a pained groan to come from his opponent below.

Though he still struggled beneath him, Kakuzu hollered down at him. "You want him to save her life!? Then if the doctor tells you to leave you fucking leave!" he heard footsteps running towards them, but the tan man ignored them. "He told you he works best without people watching. If you really loved her that much, you'd respect that and do what the man says! He's trying to save her! Don't fuck it up by being a stubborn little bitch who can't be without her for two fucking seconds!" The footsteps had stopped and so had Kisame's struggling. Kakuzu knew who was watching them, and he couldn't bear to bring himself to look up.

"Is that why you let Ishiko go so easily? Because you 'respect' her wishes?" Kisame huffed sarcastically, "You didn't even try to get her to change her mind. You just let her go like it was dead-weight." Kakuzu snarled and pressed his knee deeper into the man, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Stop it!" Ishiko hollered at him. At first he wanted to ignore her request; after all, it wasn't like he had to listen to her anymore.

They weren't in a relationship, she made sure of that.

However, he couldn't help himself but try to please her. Kakuzu lifted his knee from the blue man's back and stood up, giving the man room to get up if he wanted to. Ishiko shot her ex a furious glare and stormed up to him. "What has gotten into to you!?" She turned on Kisame when the man had finally stood up. "And you!" She pointed at the man and began to scold him too. "You should be ashamed of yourself! Dariru is in there dying and all you two can do is fight!?" She grabbed the sides of her head and let out an angry grumble before moving her hands to her tummy.

Kakuzu saw her wincing at the pain his children were causing her; and though he tried to stop himself, he couldn't help but take a step closer to her with arms outstretched and ready to comfort her. She froze at his action, giving him a shocked look. He shook his head and took many steps back, shifting his eyes to look at anything but her.

Ren went to her and placed his arm around her shoulders. "C'mon. You need to get some rest." Ishiko nodded and walked with the man as they went towards the living hall of the base where all of the rooms were. Kakuzu slumped to the ground and held his face in the palm of his hand. He missed her, and though she was right there in front of him, he couldn't have her. What if he had tried more to get her back? Would she want him back if he tried? The man sighed and rubbed his tense face as numerous thoughts swam viciously through his mind.

There was silence, but even that didn't last long. Kisame had begun to pace in front of the infirmary door impatiently, his wide white eyes never leaving the blurry glass door. The two men did not converse as the minutes ticked by like hours and the hours ticked by like days. The moment the glass door creaked open to reveal a tired looking Doctor Keirei, Kisame was the first to greet the man.  
However, the doctor pushed past the shark-man and closed the door, staining the glass with bloody fingerprints. "Kakuzu-san?"

The doctor called out to the disgruntled tan man. Kakuzu looked up at him but didn't say a word. "You're good at stitching people up right?" The tan man nodded and the doctor motioned for him to follow. Before either man could enter the room, Kisame stopped them both.

"Is she alright?" He asked, staring down at the tired doctor.

Keirei rubbed his eyes before grumbling, "The rock is out and the infection has died down. But she still lost a lot of blood during the operation. I'm..." he paused and shook his head, "Let's see what happens when the stitches are in." The doctor and tan man disappeared behind the infirmary door, leaving Kisame alone in the hallway.

He sat down and let out a shaky breath, unable to control the shaking of his arm. Religion was for people who didn't understand how the world worked. Gods being in control of the elements was man's way of saying "I don't really know how an earthquake happens, so let's say a guy with a big hammer smacks the ground every time he's unhappy with us". It was also for people who didn't know what else to do or had no one else to turn to. It gave people a sense of strange security that someone, somewhere, was listening to them and could hear their pained wishes, no matter how far-fetched they were, and that someone could help them.

Kisame believed it was all a load of bullshit for the greedy bastards who spewed such lectures to the stupidly gullible just so they could con them into giving up their money so that "God" would think more highly of them. Then again, he thought it was very strange how non-believing people in dire situations suddenly believe in a God and Heaven and Hell. He, apparently, was one of those people.

"Please," he began in a whisper, "let her live. Good God, let her live."


	60. Chapter 60

I had this in reserve for sometime. I thought something that would require a long break would come up so I'm glad I didn't post these sooner. Blood Thirsty Me is going through some touch personal issues so she's taking a break and I'm not sure whether she wants me to continue or not. But I'm awaiting her decision. I thank you all for sticking with us all this time and reviews still are very much appreciated.

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Chapter Sixty

She prayed. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen. She was supposed to deliver her babies with Kakuzu by her side, and Dariru right there cheering her on like a cheerleader and Kisame waving a tiny flag. Things were looking so grim; she wished it could only happen to somebody else. Hadn't Dariru been through enough? She had dealt with Keisuke and betrayed the one and only love of her entire life. But she had to be so severely injured too? Was this a test? Some sick and twisted test to see if she was worthy of living from God? Her hands went to her stomach. She wished her beautiful twins could be born to different parents. They didn't need to be surrounded by all of this. They shouldn't have to be born into such an environment filled with blood and illegal activity. Ren felt like leaning on a piece of wheat. He was sturdy, but she felt like he wasn't close to capable to supporting her if she went into early labor. His grip was too weak, a very shy-like grip. Ren looked around cautiously again and spotted a clock. Ishiko didn't even realize he was wearing a small watch as he checked it.

"Are you timing something?" Ren glanced at her with a somewhat panicked expression.

"Of course not." He gave a reassuring smile. They stopped as a door came up, painted with a large 'Enter' on it. Ren's business face came up and Ishiko knew something was wrong. He reached into his pocket and let go of Ishiko for a small moment and took a string and tied it to the doorknob. It was like he was setting up something. But for what reason? Why in the base? Was that the reason he was looking around so suspiciously?

"Ishiko, I'd hate for you to hate me, but I must tell you something before you find out on your own." Ren said, not facing her at all. Ishiko could feel a cold shiver run down her back. Finally she remembered something she wished she hadn't The real reason Ren had always been kind to her. She hadn't remembered it at first; she had buried the memory deep within her mind when Keisuke had turned into the monster. Ren was the boy who wanted to be trained by Keisuke. Ren was an apprentice of Keisuke's.

"I am the one who carries out Lord Keisuke's will when he died. Keisuke planned out everything, even his own, real death." The words came out so smoothly, like he had rehearsed it but he took a shaky breathe. Ishiko shook her head in surprise.

"He… He's not dead. He was alive when…" Ishiko breathed a little slower. Keisuke was alive. Had… Was he killed? Or was it natural causes? Panic rose in her stomach. Ren had never acted before… so he really was dead for Ren to turn up now.

"Keisuke wanted to change the world. And punish those who had truly scarred the earth, especially to you." The blonde boy turned around, his eyes searching and he got out a bug. Placing the little listening device hidden behind a candle sitting on a hanging decoration he went back to Ishiko's side.

"This will all play out just like Keisuke wanted to. But he needed you to think he was a horrible brother, for this all to make sense." He was dying. Tadashi. Did he know Tadashi would come back alive?

"Itachi killed your baby before, and caused you harm, not because he wanted to, but because Madara was behind it all."

_Keisuke finished, with a small smirk, but it quickly disappeared seeing Dariru squirm. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly got out the small slip of paper, and concentrated all of his chakra to morphing it into a solid. He had to work quickly. This all had to play through. With his chakra-covered hand, he reached into his own chest, and with a grunt of pain pulled out a rounded stone emblem. Dariru was sure not to get injured. She had the guard dog Kisame keeping her locked up all the time. And he quickly, moving past Dariru's skin with ease, slipped past her skin, embedding it into her body. This would work. If he knew anything about Madara and Itachi. He knew this would work. _

_Madara would die by the hands of Itachi. _

"He wanted to give everyone justice. He planned everything out. He knew every step and every reaction."

_Keisuke was ready now. Placing his yellow kimono on, he glanced over at his younger sister. Everything would play out, swallowing a pill that was especially given to him by Orochimaru he knew he was doing something right. This plan could not go wrong. _

"This will explain everything. And since you gave Dariru your blood, you activated the whole plan." Ren reached into his kunai pouch and brought out a cassette tape. Ishiko's eyes widened in shock. She… she played right into her brother's hand, even though he was dead. But so many different types of dread filled her. The fact that now, officially, her brother was really dead. And the fact in a way, she was still serving out his will like he was alive. She was still right where he wanted her. He had bet on her helping Dariru. Ren chuckled and Ishiko pushed away, nearly slamming against the wall and held her stomach defensively. Ren looked at her, a little surprised but still holding onto the tape.

"Itachi's ties where was killed your first child, and will be what will kill Madara." He spoke grimly. Ishiko shook her head. Ren sighed.

"I thought you'd be a little shocked, but I can't have you messing up Keisuke's final request." Ren pulled out a needle, and before Ishiko could protest in fear, Ren had already grabbed her, swiftly inserting the sedative into her neck. Holding her up for dear life.

"Sorry, Lady Ishiko."

---

Kakuzu felt as if he had walked into a murder scene. Blood covered the table, and Dariru's breathing was barely noticeable. Keirei shook his head and sighed.

"She's stable; I just need her stitched up now." Her bloody wound was covered was gauze that was doing a horrible job of keeping all of her blood in. Keirei looked at Kakuzu expectantly.

"I'll do it." Kakuzu said, just to get the doctor to stop looking at him. He couldn't handle anybody to look at him right now. Not after the shocked look Ishiko gave to him. Like it was a forbidden thing for him to be so concerned. Why shouldn't he? He reasoned with himself. It was his child too after all. Well, his children. He wondered if she'd be open to him helping in naming them. Or picking out baby clothes. The doctor nodded gratefully and went away to the other side of the room to gather supplies for after the stitching and gave Kakuzu room. His tendrils sneaked out past his sleeves and made its way into Dariru's skin.

"I already cleaned the wound, its fine to stitch." Keirei added as the tendril's wrapped in and out of Dariru's skin ever so carefully and slowly, not missing a single beat. The girl didn't even twitch or wince as the fine pointed tendrils weaved through her skin, stopping only to tie the ends together. The tendril snapped and pulled itself back under his sleeve when the job was done; the new black lines against her pale body reminded him of a stuffed doll that had gotten a tear in its fabric. He knew this small act of kindness would make Ishiko happy, but he didn't count on this little deed to fix their broken relationship.

Kakuzu stepped away and watched as the doctor began to put protective bandaging over the fresh stitches, working carefully as to not reopen the wound. He took off his plastic gloves and wiped his forehead with a sigh. "Poor girl..." he murmured as he began to walk to the other side of the room, pushing aside a white curtain to reveal a small bed reserved for patients. As he pushed the blankets aside, he began to talk to Kakuzu, "Would you mind helping me carry her over here? It'll be too risky to carry her all the way to the regular rooms and I'll be able to keep a closer eye on her." The tan man merely grunted and waited by the girl's operating table.

It made him wonder if Ishiko would let him be near her when she finally goes into labor. He knew what her fate was, but he would be damned if he didn't try to save her life. And if saving her meant giving up one or both of the twins...then he was willing to make that sacrifice.

The doctor lifted the girl by the shoulders, while Kakuzu grabbed her legs. "One, two...three!" Keirei wheezed out, doing his best not to let the girl's head drag on the floor. The two made their way slowly to the bed, where Keirei was barely able to lift the girl onto the cushioned furniture, but with Kakuzu's help, they were able to set the girl down safely.

"You're really out of shape," The Akatsuki member commented as the doctor began to cover his patient's body with thin blankets.

"Yeah...I know..." the man mumbled sadly, "I spend all my time studying and reading that I never get the time to go out and exercise." Kakuzu huffed and made his way to the door, knowing exactly who was waiting on the other side. He pushed aside the worried Kisame and made his way down the hall; he didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

"Is she alright?" Kisame asked the doctor when Kakuzu gave him no answer, which made him assume something bad had happened.

Keirei nodded, "She's stable, for now...she's asleep right now--"

"May I see her?" He interrupted, trying to look over the doctor and into the infirmary for any sign of Dariru.  
A pondering grumble came from Keirei as he rubbed his forehead. "Fine, but only on two conditions." Kisame waited impatiently for the doctor's reasoning. "First off, you'll let me see that shoulder of yours when you're done with Dariru. Secondly, I'm afraid you'll be able to see her for a few minutes. The girl needs as much as rest she can get." Kisame nodded hurriedly and was in the infirmary the moment the doctor made room for him.

The first thing he saw was the operating table. It was covered in blood, and he knew whose blood it had been. Kisame didn't even notice his shaking knees as he stared at bright crimson liquid. There was a metal pan set on a table, and in it was the rock that caused so much pain to his lover, covered in water and more blood. Stained towels and needles were scattered across a metal table, giving the blue man only a small picture of what had happened while he had been waiting outside.

When he finally saw Dariru, asleep on a bed, he walked slowly over to her as to not wake her or lose balance in his shaking legs. She was asleep, and she was cleaned, or at least somebody tried to wipe the blood off her. There was so much gauze stained with blood around he barely cracked a smile thinking how entranced Dariru would be when she wakes up. Kisame glanced over at Keirei.

"When will she be better?" Kisame asked, wrapped his hands in hers. Keirei turned to him and started to wash his hands in the sink, throwing the bloodied gloves in a trashcan marked with the bio-waste symbol on it. He looked a little perplexed but thought about it, glancing around.

"Maybe a week, it shouldn't that long, but just enough so the stitches would join the skin and she'll be under strict rest so she won't tear them open." Keirei answered. A week. That wasn't so bad. Maybe if Dariru drank Ishiko's blood again she'll heal even faster. He made a mental note to ask. Keirei sighed happily, glad the surgery was over.

"She did very well. Everything else was rather normal; she clotted very well, made things much easier. I'll clean her better later, if you don't mind that is." Keirei added. Kisame smiled slightly. Of course Dariru would do well. She was a fighter, and unwilling to go down. Dariru was his woman. Keirei stayed silent, and kept cleaning, making room for him to treat every brutal wound Kisame had earned. The clock ticked away, reflecting the caring scene of a lover caring for his love of his life.

---

They had to talk. It was inevitable now. It wasn't like she was going to get the luxury of avoiding him forever. It was his children too. If they weren't together anymore he still had certain rights to them, not like he was one to talk about the law. Though his hearts were pounding with nervousness. He didn't want to scare her and probably send her into early labor, but they just needed to talk this through. Before they didn't really talk, just yell at each other. Maybe that was what it was. Maybe she just simply didn't like all the yelling. He made a note to himself to apologize for that. Kakuzu sighed and made his way carefully down the hallway, lined with different doors and other small hallways.

"Ah! Kakuzu-san! Lady Ishiko just fell asleep-" Ren started, not like he was in any position to do anything about Kakuzu going to Ishiko. The taller man passed by the small blond and he started after him as well.

"Kakuzu-san I advise you not to do that!!" Ren cried. Kakuzu had no idea what he was talking about. Like Ren was Ishiko's personal secretary or something.

"Ren, stand down." Tadashi interrupted from the corner. Ren looked at him with anguish. Kakuzu looked at Tadashi gratefully and continued.

"But the-"

"I know. But this will have nothing to do with it if you did your job." Tadashi narrowed his eyes as soon as Kakuzu was out of earshot. Ren stilled, setting his jaw and cursing mentally. Tadashi smiled slightly.

"Besides, Tsuwa-senpai won't tell. She has the same sense of justice as her brother."

---

Kakuzu knew she was pretending to be asleep. She didn't know, and nobody would tell her, but she squeaked in her sleep. Every three breathes to be exact. He had counted; he woke up before and went to sleep after her every night. He loved to watch her sleep. He could tell if she was having a nightmare, or having a good dream or even a lustful dream. Nightmares she wouldn't turn, she wouldn't toss, she would simply be as still as possible, and she curled every time. Good dreams she woke up in the middle of the night, and she tossed then. Lustful dreams her thighs would press together and she would sweat. Once or twice he helped her, rubbing the fabric of her underwear until she had an orgasm. Not that she knew of any of that.

But he knew every habit of hers, including when she pretended to be asleep. She breathed too evenly, and she was facing away from the person she was trying to avoid, and held her face too close to the pillow. She must have been tired though, but not enough to sleep just yet. She held her head too close to the pillow.

"Ishiko." He spoke, his deep voice rumbling and loud against the silent room. Ishiko's eyes opened slightly, but they didn't stay open for long and they closed immediately.

"Why are you here?" She asked softly. Kakuzu swallowed, feeling his stomach tighten. So far so good. She didn't kick him out just yet, and she wasn't upset. But he was still nervous about how huge her stomach was getting. Those children were really stretching her out. She had changed. Now only wearing a large T-shirt. His T-shirt. Somehow even in the new base she managed to find his clothes and wear them. But even with her pregnant body, they covered her until her mid-thighs. He took the time to notice her thighs and calves were getting slightly larger, probably from the gained weight.

"We need to talk." Kakuzu answered. He took a few more steps forward, crouching down next to the bed, gingerly placing his hands on the edge, just waiting for her to start getting angry. But Ishiko seemed too tired to even do that now. Her eyes slowly blinked, opening only every minute or so.

"What about?" Ishiko asked again. She looked so tired; he almost felt bad interrupting her potential sleep.

Almost.

"About the twins. We needed to decide on the names… baby clothes… What kind of birth…" Kakuzu listed. Ishiko listened, taking a deep breath.

"Tsubaki and Hiraku. That will be their names." Ishiko answered in one swift breathe.

"They'll take my maiden name." Ishiko said, opening her eyes wide enough to give him a stern look. Kakuzu tried not to take in as an insult. It made enough sense. If they were going to be the Tsuchikage they needed to have the Tsuwa last name. But she had that tone again, like she was the boss.

"Tsubaki and Hiraku? Are you sure?" He asked, to be honest, he kind of liked those names. But his heart clenched in thought that she decided their names without him. Ishiko sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Can we talk about this another time?" Ishiko said. Kakuzu felt no right to say anything against her right now. Ishiko tossed back her head and swiveled it away from him, turning her entire body away from him. Kakuzu stood up, but Ishiko snapped up, looking at him in shock.

"Where are you going?" She asked quickly, cradling her stomach with her other arm. Kakuzu looked back with a raised eyebrow.

"Dariru is stitched up, she'll be fine." Kakuzu said lowly. Ishiko went silent for a second before laying back down, staring up at the ceiling. She needed to watch herself. She was lucky Kakuzu didn't think anything of her question to begin with. They were separated.

"Alright." She tried her best not to protest as Kakuzu left. The news of Dariru being okay was comfort enough to settle her buzzing head.

* * *

I liked those names. At first it was going to be Hiraku and Hikaru, but then I decided agasint it becuase they were just way too similar to type up over and over again and I'd just confuse myself. But I am going to post up a picture of them in a small jump-start oneshot (possible series) ten-year futuristic setting on my Deviantart soon. So you can check them out there. Tsubaki and Hiraku are already growing on me, I feel like they're my own little babies. :3


	61. Chapter 61

We're back in business baby!

* * *

Chapter 61

Ishiko found herself unable to sleep. Not only were the twins a bit restless, but so was her heart and mind. Ever since Kakuzu had entered the room, she just couldn't help but think about him. Even her babies seemed excited that their father had visited them. It made everything in her body ache from a mixture of confusion, want, and anger. They were no longer together, so she shouldn't even be thinking of the tan man that had impregnated her. But it was a feat that the girl was seemingly unable to conquer. Apparently, her body and mind wanted him more than she was willing to admit, even to herself.

Very slowly, her fingers began to trace small circles on her stomach, the sudden act calming the twins' kicking fit. It made her wonder if the twins would look like each other or completely different. Would they look like herself? Or their father? The thought of her babies looking like Kakuzu sent a shiver through her, but she couldn't tell if it was from discomfort or excitement. She didn't know what was going on with her body right now. Everything seemed upside down or backwards to her. It was so bad she would have cried had she not been good at holding the tears back.

The only thing that seemed to make sense was that Dariru was fixed now. Thanks to Kakuzu. Ishiko sighed before grabbing a pillow and putting it over her face. She was lucky the man had complied to fixing her friend; after all he technically had no obligation to help the short-haired girl; of course, Kakuzu would have gotten a bit of a beating from Kisame if he had refused, and a lot of hateful and threatening words would have been spewed from numerous mouths. But he had saved her anyway. It made the pregnant girl wonder if he had done it for her and not for Dariru's sake? Though it was a conceited thought, it was able to put a small smile on the girl's face as she continued to trace circles on her tummy.

–

"Ow!" Kisame snapped at the doctor.

The man recoiled away from his patient before whispering, "Sorry! Sorry!" The doctor resumed in his task of cleaning out a deep gash in the blue man's arm. Though most of the wound had healed already, the skin was still tender and signs of infection were visible to the doctor's trained eye. The man prayed that this was the last injury Kisame had sustained; he didn't want to risk being bitten because he applied too much pressure on a delicate spot. The first thing Keirei had fixed was Kisame's shoulder. It had been dislocated and even a piece of the shoulder blade had been cracked. However, the task of putting it in a proper sling was easy; though, he had apparently moved the blue man's arm too fast for the patient kept exclaiming out his pain as silently as he could. Just the shoulder would take about two weeks to properly realign itself, and even then the shoulder may still be a little sore.

Everything else on the blue man was either a cut or a massive bruise. Keirei had put some peroxide on the cuts before covering them up, and had told Kisame to get bags of ice for the bruises after he was done. Quite honestly, the doctor had been expecting more wounds, but at the same time he was happy there weren't many injuries. The sooner he was done with Kisame, the sooner he could give Ishiko her much needed opium dose.

"There!" Keirei stated, patting the bandaging on the man's arm gently, "All done! Don't forget to get..." he would have continued, but he knew it would be useless. The moment he had said "done", Kisame had moved his stool next to Dariru's bed, shutting out the rest of the world. With a shrug, Keirei stood up and threw away stained cotton swabs and other garbage into the disposal can. He may have been used to seeing the two together, but at first he couldn't understand why a young girl like Dariru had gone for someone so...different. After all, the girl seemed normal both physically and mentally, and was also quite a nice person. It had been so odd to see someone so nice with a strange looking criminal. Now, as Doctor Keirei gathered the opium and glanced over at the two, he was beginning to see how she could have fallen for the blue behemoth. The man was so strongly dedicated to her that it almost seemed almost out of character for a criminal.

With a small smile, the doctor made his way to the door. "I might kick you out when I come back," he warned, but Kisame paid him no attention. The doctor shook his head, "Oh well. I tried to warn you." With that, the man left the infirmary and began to make his way to the living hall. He had no idea where Ishiko's room was, but he would find out eventually after knocking on each door. It was a slow tactic, but then again, he really didn't want to accidentally walk-in on her at a bad moment. He had endured the wrath of a pregnant woman before, and it was an experience he really wished not to go through again. He had seen what she had done to Suigetsu when she wasn't even as hormonal, but now he feared for his life. Not to mention the league behind her who would be upset if she were as well. Knocking on a door, and receiving no answer he simply moved on to a new one, but then he saw a new door open with a familiar Kakuzu walking out, a rather annoyed look on his face.

But he could deal with a grumpy father-to-be any day.

"Kakuzu-san!" Keirei cried happily. Kakuzu stopped momentarily, not really up for dealing with the inquisitive doctor at this point. But he felt like he needed to deal with him in order for him to take care of his- or, his ex-fiancé. Keirei made his way to the taller man, gazing up at him with a slight smile and a sort of lecturing look in his eyes.

"Do you much tell me where Ishiko might be?" He asked, lightly touching the bottle of opium in his pocket. Kakuzu's eyes shifted down and appeared to have noticed, and his eyebrows lifted in understanding.

"She was resting when I last saw her, whether she is awake or not now I do not know." Kakuzu spoke so solemnly is almost concerned the doctor. He had never heard the Akatsuki member speak so cryptically when he was around Ishiko. Maybe that was it. The criminal had a soft side for her that he only chose to express around her, just like with Kisame. Keirei waited a second before speaking up, afraid he may interrupt Kakuzu in saying anything else. But when Kakuzu was silent for a second he decided to speak up. But he noticed Kakuzu said nothing about her current location.

"I must give her the opium! It is crucial we start her back on her treatment!" He glanced at his watch. Speaking of treatments he needed to go back and check up on Dariru as well.

"She's in the second to last door in the last hallway to the right." Kakuzu answered. Keirei furrowed his brows. This base was like a maze. Ryou appeared in one of the doorways, his arms crossed and wearing the most forlorn look Kakuzu had ever seen a young man wear for no particular reason.

"How can you speak of Ishiko-sama with such negligence!? I'll be damned of why she chose you to be a suitor!" Ryou exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air like some animal. What? And this boy thought he was so much better? Tadashi was right next to him, looking at him with slight embarrassment and looked at Kakuzu with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry Kakuzu-san, Ryou-san is a little grumpy-"

"Bullshit I'm grumpy! I'm furious! And why you of all people let her go off with this- this- MONSTER! I'll be damned!!" Ryou was blushing with rage and his neck was grabbed by a hand turned to stone. Keirei's eyes widened and he rushed off, not wanting to be involved in yet another fight. But maybe he could get to Ishiko and as much as he really didn't want to cause even more friction, he needed Ishiko to get involved in this. Kakuzu didn't notice but Tadashi squeaked in surprise and even jumped back a couple of feet. Ryou struggled for breathe, wincing with every wheeze he released in Kakuzu's literally iron grip.

"Don't ever say that again."

---

Every small breathe she breathed, he allowed to let himself take another breath. He had never felt so chained with guilt in his entire life before. This whole thing could have been avoided; he could have grabbed her before she had ran off into the dark ravine where the traps awaited. He could have calmed himself down sooner and tell her that it was alright, that he had forgiven her for something that was not her fault. He could have pulled her away from Itachi before the Uchiha bastard and Keisuke had taken the girls away. There were so many things he could have done, but didn't do; and now, this was his punishment. To sit and watch the light in his fucked up life flicker in and out of existence, still deciding whether it wanted to go out or rebuild itself.

As Kisame sat there and watched the pale girl's chest rise ever so slightly with every breath, he couldn't help but think about what had caused her to run off. She had experienced insanity because she believed he would not take her back. It had pained him to find out what Keisuke had done to her, but now he realized that, in a way, it was just another sign of how much Dariru loved the blue man. After all, Keisuke had to hide his handsome features behind a genjutsu that looked like Kisame just to keep the girl from struggling. Had the young man not used the jutsu, Dariru would have revolted against him and would have ended up being raped instead. Though both situations weren't ideal, it was still a strange way for the blue man to see where her loyalties truly lay.

A small moan came from Dariru and her closed eyes tightened before her head began to turn towards him. Kisame moved the stool closer to her so that his face was just a few inches from hers. The doctor had wiped the dried blood and dirt from her face, the only thing dirt being her brown hair, but Kisame didn't care. She was waking up and he wanted to make sure she was alright.

Very slowly, the girl's eyes blinked open only halfway from the drugs, exhaustion and weakness her body was experiencing all at once. The once bright oak-brown eyes that would stare at him without any trace of fear or loathing were now dull and clouded over as if she were focusing on another plane of reality that the rest of the world was unaware of. She looked deathly ill, and it made Kisame just want to stay close as if this may be the last time he would ever see her alive.

The corners of her mouth twitched into a weak small, and the familiar brightness in her eyes began to reappear dimly. It made the man sigh with relief at the sign of energetic life and some of the weight of guilt slumped from his chest. He cupped the side of her face with his good hand, noticing that her skin was a little cold to the touch, making him shiver uneasily. He would make sure to get her another blanket when she fell asleep again.

Again, the first words to come from her mouth were, "I'm sorry."

Kisame shook his head, but couldn't stop the smile at her catchphrase. "You really need to stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault."

She frowned, "But this is my fault. I ran off into the ravine on my own accord. As a result, I got myself blown up. And now I'm just another burden for everyone to carry."

Though she had a point about the running off part, he wasn't going to tell her that. "You've never been a burden to me."  
She choked out a small chuckle. "That's because you've gotten used to the extra weight I've forced onto you." Very slowly, she stared up at the ceiling, the side affects of the drugs apparent on her face and with the attitude she was having. "You should have had that water clone kill me when I didn't stop following you and Itachi-san." she lifted one hand limply to the air and began to point at random spots on the ceiling. "Then you would not be going through this pain. You wouldn't be so tied up with me if you had just killed me from the beginning."

Kisame glared at her and the words she was uttering. Surely this was only a side-affect from the sedative Keirei had forced into her? He prayed that it was. "You don't mean that Dariru," He said sternly as her hand began to weave through the air pointlessly. "Those aren't your words. Those are just the drugs talking."

Her hand flopped down on the bed, her eyes still locked with the ceiling. "Yes...and no. They're Christine's words." At the mention of the name, Kisame raised an inquisitive eyebrow. He had heard it before; Dariru had said that name before she ran off into the dark. Though, he didn't remember Dariru mentioning anyone named "Christine" before...or maybe it was just a sign that he was getting old and forgetful?

He turned her head so that their eyes would lock with one another. "Who is Christine?" If this Christine were real, he was going to make sure to rip her tongue out for filling his woman's head with such negative thoughts. Dariru's head was meant to be filled with only positive and happy thoughts of blood and the outside world. It was what had kept her so bright and alive in that dreary world he had grown accustomed to living in.

"Christine is a voice in my head," Dariru replied as if he should know this fact already. Her eyes were completely open now, but they seemed to be in a bit of a daze. "I've seen her once, in a dream. She looks just like me, but with longer hair, make up, and pointed nails." She stared at her own hand and whispered, "Like they were meant for an animal..."

A normal person would have believed Dariru had gone completely insane and would direct the girl to the nearest insane asylum. However, Kisame had lived with crazier people than what was happening with Dariru now; though he never thought the girl would be capable of experiencing something like this with herself. "So, Christine tells you that the rest of the world would be better off if you were dead?"

The girl nodded, "And other degrading things. But this is the first time she's ever really appeared so often." She furrowed her brow before adding, "In fact, this had never happened until Suigetsu-san showed up..." Kisame tensed at the mention of the young prodigy. If he were to show up now, the blue man was sure he would rip the child limb-from-limb without a second thought. "I know I sound crazy right now," she kept going, now looking at her blue lover in the eyes. "But it's true. I'm sure Christine will go away soon. She always goes away when she's proven wrong."

A small spark of hope ignited in the man's gut. He inched his face closer to her's before whispering, "Will you tell me how to prove her wrong?" The girl nodded slowly, her body stiff with anticipation from the little space that was between their faces. Without another word, he placed his lips on hers gently and slowly. Her lips were a little chapped, but he over-looked it as the familiar sensation of their bodies touching so intimately shuddered through him. It had been so long since he kissed her like this that he couldn't stop himself from continuing. He had almost forgotten what it was like to have his tongue in her mouth, and now the feeling was like a drug.

He heard her wince in pain and he immediately pulled away, taking deep breaths as his heart pounded quickly against its chamber.

"Your hand..." She mumbled, her face contorting in pain. Kisame looked down and noticed his good hand had trailed from her face to her side. It was now resting on the spot where her injury was. Immediately, he pulled his hand away and saw relief wash over her face.

"I'm sorry," he said, scooting away from her, fearing he may hurt her again. "I didn't mean to hurt you."  
She smiled at him, her body appearing to be more alive than it had been just minutes ago. "It's alright. I know you wouldn't do that on purpose." He smiled at her and noticed the purple bags under her eyes.

Very gently, he placed his hand over her eyes and whispered, "Get some sleep. You'll need all the energy you can get."

Tiny pale hands grasped his wrist gently. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked like a child asks a parent to read them a bedtime story. But he knew there was a perfectly good reason for her request. The last thing she needed was a traumatizing nightmare that may rip open her stitches.

"Of course," he answered, moving closer to her.

"I love you," she said instead of uttering "thank you".

Kisame caressed her cheek and smiled, "I love you too." Her eyes closed completely and he watched her fall slowly into a deep sleep.

–

Keirei knocked on the door that Ishiko was supposed to be behind. At first there was no answer, but when he knocked he decided to speak up. "Ishiko-san? It's me, Doctor Keirei?" He pressed his ear against the door, listening for any signs of movement. Still, there was nothing, and the doctor wondered if she were asleep or if this were the wrong room. The door suddenly opened, making the man stumble forward before he was able to regain his balance.

Ishiko look exhausted. Her hair was a bit tousled, the kimono she wore seemed to sag a bit off of her shoulder. Not to mention that the large lump protruding from beneath the silken fabric made the effort of standing seem unbearable. Keirei straightened himself up and hurried her back into the room. "Goodness Ishiko-san, you look miserable!" He pushed her down gently on to the bed, "Sit down! Geez, if I had known about this, I would have opened that door myself!"

As he began to rummage through his pocket for the opium vile, noticing that the girl was silent the whole time. He gave her worried glance, wondering if she was starting to have regrets for leaving Kakuzu. "So...how have you been feeling lately?"  
She glared at him before grumbling out, "Bloated. And in pain..." Ishiko began to rub her belly slowly, "They kick pretty hard..."

"They're kicking already?" Keirei beamed, excited about the news of the twin's activity. "That's wonderful Ishiko-san! But...you said that it hurts when they kick?" She nodded and the man bit his lip nervously. That was not supposed to happen...at least, all the other pregnant women he had had to deal with never claimed that their kicking babies were hurting them. Perhaps it was because she had missed her opium treatment so often?

"Yes," she mumbled, "They're very powerful so being so small." even when the doctor disappeared into the bathroom, Ishiko did not look up from her belly. Out of all of the things that could kill her, it was going to be her children; the worst part about it was that they would not have killed her on purpose. Keirei came back with a glass of water with the opium dose already mixed within it.

"Drink up," he ordered calmly, "hopefully, it will reduce the pain." After she had gulped the bitter tasting liquid completely down, the doctor sat next to her on the bed. "Have you had any...'episodes'...while you were away?"

Ishiko nodded slowly. The world around seemed to slow down back to a steady pace and the buzzing in her head died down to nothingness. She could barely feel her babies' kicking, and for a moment it worried her; but when she placed a hand on her tummy and felt the familiar feet against the walls of flesh, she smiled with relief.

Keirei's voice pulled her out of her trance, How were you able to overcome the episode?"

"My brother gave me a shot," She answered. "It was not as effect as the opium, but it helped."

He sighed in relief and stood up, "Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate in asking for it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to check up on Dariru." As he turned to leave, a hand gripped his sleeve, making him turn around to see Ishiko's exhausted face staring up at him with concern.

"How is she?" Ishiko asked.

Keirei gave her a reassuring smile before answering, "Last I checked, she was doing just fine. Kisame-san is keeping her company too." The pregnant girl seemed to glare at the latter part of the information. It made the doctor feel like he didn't know something.

"That bastard should make up his mind," She snapped, tearing her hand from the doctor's sleeve. "First he almost abandons her and now he can't stand to be without her. It's putting too much of a strain on Dariru!"

With furrowed brows, the doctor held up his hands in an attempt to slow her down. "Woah, woah woah, Ishiko-san. What in the world are you talking about? Kisame-san abandoned Dariru? That seems a little hard to believe--"

"He almost did!" She snapped again, "All because my older brother practically raped her. It wasn't even her fault! And yet that fish-face decides that if someone else has had her, with or without her consent, then he won't have anything to do with her!"

The doctor was silent after hearing what had happened. Dariru had been raped? If that was the case, then he had to do more than just make sure she didn't bleed-out. They had to test for pregnancy right away! "Um...th-thank you, Ishiko-san," Keirei mumbled as he made his way to the door, "I uh....I need to check up on her now."

* * *

High school is so dramatic. Why can't everything be normal like kid-orientated shows?


	62. Chapter 62

So... Yeah... Reviews are much appreciated.

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Chapter Sixty-Two

"Kakuzu-san!" Tadashi tried but Kakuzu shook his head.

"No, this worm will die." Kakuzu growled out, and tightening his grip, Ren squirmed and clawed at his forearm. Tadashi bit his lower lip in agitation, trying to decide what to do in order to save Ren. Should he release the information he had been trusted to only reveal to Ishiko when the time was right, or reveal it right now and possibly save Ren's life.

"Kakuzu, you don't know something about Ren, but if you kill him Tsuwa-senpai will be devastated." Tadashi tried again. Kakuzu's eyes widened as he stared in the boy's. Tadashi saw the sudden new maliciousness and realized that was a mistake. Of course, Ishiko just left him; it was stupid to bring her up now. Kakuzu felt even more rage build up inside him and his muscles bulged in the fabric of the cloak sleeve, the rock wall behind Ren started to crack from the pressure. Why was this rat so important? If he dies why would his love ex-fiancé care about him so damn much? Tadashi started to hop from foot to foot in nervousness now.

"Kakuzu-san, Ren is Tsuwa-senpai's half-brother!!" Tadashi screamed at him.

Wait.

What?

Kakuzu's grip automatically retreated and he backed up a couple of steps, and Tadashi rushed over to a coughing Ren. His blue eyes glared up, struggling for each breath and Kakuzu could feel his ears burn. That was impossible. Ishiko's mother only had two children, his dear, ex-fiancé Ishiko and Keisuke. Besides Ren was about the same age of Ishiko. That meant he must have been conceived around the time Ishiko was. The only logical answer he could think of was that he was her twin. But he figured Keisuke would be just an incestuous with Ren as he was with Ishiko. That only left one other answer, which was that Ishiko's father was unfaithful to Miaki. And he neglected to take care of his other love-child.

Tadashi finally decided to speak up.

"Takari Tsuwa was a very handsome man, but he only ever really loved Miaki above all other women in the village. But unlike Tsuwa-senpai… Ren never got the blessing of the kekkei genkai, so he was neglected from any Tsuwa Clan rights." Tadashi explained. Ren looked away when he said that but he wiped some dirt from his chin.

"Ishiko may only be my half-sister, but I still care for her." He looked determined.

"It was hard for me to treat her the way the other villagers treated her. Especially since I knew we shared the same blood, except… I wasn't as cursed as she was. I should have received the same treatment as her..." Kakuzu scowled.

"But you weren't." Kakuzu snarled. Ren looked up, his blond hair got in his face and Tadashi helped the boy up.

"Yes, and I am Keisuke's successor in that sense. But I have my own agenda." Kakuzu didn't like what he was implying.

"I don't like the way you look at Ishiko, I don't like the way you talk to her, let me make this simple as possible. I don't like the fact you like my sister in general, you don't deserve her." Kakuzu rolled his eyes, even though his heart felt like it was bleeding now. Why was it he had the feeling even if Ishiko's father was alive every male family member of hers would not approve of their relationship. Well… they should all be relieved. She dumped him. End of story.

"Well you should be glad, because she left me." It took all of his strength to not let his voice crack as he said the cold truth he still couldn't wrap his head around. Ren smirked and Kakuzu tried not to smack that face right off. He knew he never deserved Ishiko. They were completely on opposite sides of the train tracks. But to hear it, now in the loud, it had a negative effect in his chest. Tadashi finally lifted Ren up, giving an apologetic look towards the tan man.

"I'm sorry for dropping such a bombshell on you Kakuzu-san, but I felt that you needed to know." Tadashi stated. Ren scoffed.

"He didn't need to know, it wasn't like he is a part of the plan." Tadashi looked at him and gave a stern look.

"He is, and you know it." Tadashi whispered in his ear, his purple eyes piercing with fire. Ren shut his mouth, his lips curving into a fine line and then there was an undeniable silence that they needed Kakuzu. No matter how much against the matter Ren was, Kakuzu was an unavoidable obstacle. Tadashi, with his back towards Kakuzu grabbed Ren's shoulder and started to turn him.

"Let's go. We still have business to attend to." Kakuzu didn't bother to question either of them. They both left, Ren glancing back to glare and flip him the finger before Tadashi scolded him and made him turn around again. Suddenly Keirei ran past him but he grabbed the doctor by the shoulder and made the scared man snap in attention.

"How is Ishiko?" He asked quietly and discreetly. Keirei fixed his hair and ran a hand through the locks.

"I'm glad about the twins' activity. It's great that they're kicking, but it worries me that they hurt her in the process. I can only assume that it was because of her missed opium treatments, but I might have to give another ultrasound to see how they are." Keirei answered with a sigh, Kakuzu blinked in concern too. Before he could control himself, he asked, "Will she be okay?"

"I assume so. She seemed full alert when I mentioned Dariru, but I need her to rest a little. She's carrying twins and that would put an incredible strain on her, but I need to go check on Dariru again since she alerted me of… Dariru's attack." Keirei said a little anxiously. He slipped away before Kakuzu could have a chance to say anything else.

---

After hearing about the news Ishiko felt a little sick. Dariru was fine, but she will forever be tormented by an indecisive man. She willed herself to move and she leaned over the bed, grabbing the small pail Keirei and left behind and puked into it, feeling tears gather in her eyes. Her muscled convulsed and soon she was only dry-heaving. She regained her composure and gave a small sob before setting it down; the musky smell bothering her somewhat and she reached for a towel and wiped her mouth. The opium was only helping ease the pain somewhat now.

She grabbed a blanket and pulled it around herself; it was a small comfort, but it helped to ease the trembling of her body as it tried to recover from the vomiting. Though, the soft fabric's comfort did not last long. It just wasn't alive. It didn't have a beating heart for her to listen to as she rested her ear against its chest, it didn't have arms to wrap around her trembling body, and it didn't have a voice that could whisper soothing words into her ear.

Kakuzu...she wanted to say his name so badly, but she refused; her pride wouldn't allow it. Especially since she was the one who ended the relationship. The best she could do was this blanket for now...maybe she would ask Ren or Tadashi to come in and just be there for her...

With an indecisive sigh, she fell on her back, feeling the coils in the mattress bend beneath her weight. What was she going to do without him? Before she couldn't very well imagine life without him, but now… No. she could do it. She had Dariru. She had Deidara to help her. A knock on the door made her shoot up but wince at the same time. She quickly laid back and combed her hair with her fingers.

"Ah, come in!" She cried. The door opened slightly before fully swinging open and Ishiko's half smile turned into a small frown as it was Kakuzu who walked in, shutting the door behind him. She tried to fake a glare, but settled for a saddened frown.

"And what are you doing here?" She asked, covering herself with the blanket. Kakuzu crossed his arms at her, like he was getting ready to lecture her. Ishiko always took note of that.

"We both know you're being childish, but this has gone too far." Kakuzu said, lowering his face angle so as to see Ishiko more clearly. His green eyes narrowed right at her. Ishiko looked away for a short moment. Kakuzu sighed and walked towards her, all she needed right now was to be loved. That was all she ever truly needed to feel comfortable. Ishiko looked at him like he was going to bite, but he settled on the bed and grabbed her hands within his own, warming them. It felt so normal to have him hold her hands, just like before, but now was different. She had to grow up again and stay that way. Now there was no room for games or times to be ridiculous anymore. She was going to be a mother.

"I know that. You always have to lecture me. You're not my dad." The pregnant girl snapped back. Kakuzu didn't listen to her, he only brought up her hands and opened them like a book and placed them on his cheeks. He felt so at home.

"I know I'm not. All I ever wanted was for you to love me." Kakuzu said softly. Ishiko felt herself still but her jaw tightened a little. What was he trying to do? The guilt twisted in her stomach and she felt a little nervous. She couldn't feel it, but she knew that the twins must have been kicking at excitement of hearing their father's voice from inside her womb. No matter what for some reason they recognized his voice above all others. Kakuzu closed his eyes for a short second, sighing and leaning his head in her hands he took hostage in his iron grip.

"They're kicking." Ishiko smiled weakly. Kakuzu suddenly looked up, his eyes aiming at her bulging and swollen stomach. Ishiko couldn't help but chuckle at his expression, like something was going to leap up at him. She wiggled her hands out of his grip and directed his hesitant hands to the skin of her womb, pressing his warm hands against the wall that separated them from seeing the twins. Kakuzu couldn't describe what he was feeling. Feeling the small bumps against his rough palm he felt a little flushed. Those were the creations of his negligence, but also a product of their love. Ishiko looked at him expectantly, waiting for his reaction.

"Isn't it wonderful?" She pressed, smiling like an idiot now. Only she would smile about something like vermin kicking at her from the inside. Kakuzu couldn't help but nod. Just to please her. Though he couldn't help the growing lump of guilt and anger from forming in his stomach.

"It is. They feel strong." He noted. Ishiko's brown eyes shifted. She must have still felt nervous. _If I don't assure her know, she'll never feel comfortable. _Kakuzu thought in his mind. He knew Ishiko. Though she thought she was this unrecognizable and mysterious spy, he read her very easily. When she didn't try so hard at least. Now wasn't one of those times.

"I missed you." He said sternly, wrapping an arm around her growing waist and pulled her gently. His face settled for the crook of her neck and she bit her lip softly, resisting letting out a moan. It seemed so long since he had been so intimate with her, or at least it seemed that way in her mind. Feeling his hot breath against her skin seemed so familiar yet so alien at the same time. His mask was a little gruff, but that was common enough. He seemed to be waiting for something though. He kissed her shoulder, a light one, and then waited a few seconds before kissing her again.

"To be honest, I was scared." Kakuzu finally mumbled into her almond skin. Ishiko looked at him in confusion.

"I thought you would never take me back. I thought you didn't love me anymore." It was so low she could hardly hear. If she hadn't been paying close attention she may not have heard him at all. But she couldn't blame him. Such a confession from such a person was a big deal. Ishiko felt herself smirk. This was the man who, even though they were separated, still did things for her will. Even though she cut the thread that binds them, he still loved her.

"What what do you feel for me?" She asked.

"I love you." Kakuzu turned his head mournfully.

"What was that?"

"I love you." He repeated, his voice going just a pitch lower. Ishiko pulled back a little, forcing Kakuzu to bring up his head. She yanked off his mask, and he didn't object, knowing who was in control of this situation. Pushing him down, she straddled him, lifting up her kimono to gain mobility and ignoring the slight wooziness.

---

The nightmare was over. Keisuke was completely dead now. And he no longer had any sort of hold on him. As he lay on the ground, pathetic in the form that Orochimaru bestowed on him, puking up blood and struggling to breathe, really, Itachi felt like laughing. He wasn't all that tough, but his incestuous love for the little idiot spy was his perfect downfall as well. The wind swiftly ran past him and he ran a hand through his black locks. Now he could simply go back to the base to his little brother. He was no longer in any danger, and as always, at his expense without Sasuke ever knowing about it.

Keisuke spoke useless words.

"Save Ishiko?" Itachi questioned himself. He didn't think he even wanted to. After all, if even Pein didn't bother to then what was the point of acting on his own? To continue the one who threatened his brother's life's will? What a joke. Besides, now that Keisuke was dead a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders. It was bad enough Keisuke knew about him purposely persuading Ishiko to kill the first child, but it was really for the better of the Akatsuki. Though he couldn't say for sure what would happen if everyone knew. Ishiko had done a good job in staying silent about that matter, taking the blame from Kakuzu all herself.

And then there was Dariru. He couldn't touch her very much either, with the protection of Kisame he probably shouldn't even glance at her the wrong way. Not that he would really want to. But after what happened, especially knowing what Keisuke did to her, Kisame might be ready to beat Itachi to a pulp. Not that he'd be able to, but he might scratch him in trying. That enough was a fear in itself. But Dariru had way too many allies for him to kill and get rid of yet another problem for the so called 'family business' as Madara –manipulative bastard he was- liked to call it. The base became visible and Itachi stopped, seeing a lot of unknown ninja wandering nearby. All looking bored and seemingly… waiting for something. One of them, blonde and blue-eyes stood, glaring and his arms crossed.

Itachi's ruby eyes scanned over all of them. One of them was injured. But the uniform above all stood out, he recognized –he knew a uniform from every ninja country- was one from the Iwa Guard. Specialized and mostly used for home security, and often used at personal Guard for the Tsuchikage. Why they were here of all places mystified him. But he didn't take much though and he drew a kunai carefully as to not create any noise.

"Sir, what do we have to be so aware for? There's nothing around for miles." A large male spoke up, yawning. The blonde one didn't respond right away.

"We're waiting for Itachi Uchiha, from Konohagakure. There's a plan that must be played out." He answered in a tone of voice Itachi didn't like one bit. The blonde suddenly blinked and his tough-guy look melted away, making room for a small smile.

"Ah, Itachi finally decide to join us?" Ren said, turning towards Itachi's direction. The rest of the ninja, they all got up and prepared kunai as well as some bombs –of course-, preparing to defend if needed. Itachi narrowed his eyes. Maybe he could simply catch the stupid Iwa boy in a genjutsu.

"I don't think catching me in a genjutsu would help you very well Itachi, see if you kill me or Ishiko, then Dariru will die. And if Dariru dies, then your dirty little secret is revealed and very pissed off Kisame will be at your heels, are you willing to risk that?" Ren said confidently.

"You seem to have a very nice plan, but it's hard to tell if you're bluffing." Itachi had to hand it to him, he was a cocky smart-ass who had real good reason to not be killed right here and now. He stepped forward, facing Ren and he noticed Ren's eyes directed themselves right on his head band.

"I assure you I'm not bluffing. Please follow me."

---

The door slammed open and it made Kisame jump before glancing to see who would have possibly awoken Dariru. Keirei stood at the doorway, disheveled and panting before he roughly set his other papers down and made his way towards the makeshift hospital bed.

"Out." Keirei spoke firmly. He started to mess with the IV's and took one out and replaced it with a different one.

"What are you going to do?!" Kisame spoke back with just as much ferocity if not more.

"Dariru forgot to mention something didn't she?" Keirei said with a snarky growl. Kisame's eyes widened a little bit. He knew didn't he? Keirei didn't wait for an answer and simply turned back to Dariru.

"This could lead to multiple problems why wasn't it mentioned to me before!? I'm a doctor! There could be tearing and tearing leads to infection…" He started to mumble and ramble about the possibilities and to be honest, it frightened Kisame a little. Dariru had been through enough. _His _Dariru had been through enough. Kisame stilled and watched as Dariru turned her head and moaned, her eyelids flickering open and close.

"She's… She's waking up!!" Kisame roared, Dariru's breathes came faster with each pant and her eyes wandered around furiously, confused of what was going on.

"That's the point. I told you to leave." Keirei said, turning around and crossing his arms like a parent would to a stubborn child. Kisame sucked in a breath through his sharp teeth. Deciding what would be best. The words of Kakuzu came rushing into his head.

"Kisame…?" Dariru's weak voice came. Kisame had to swallow.

"Leave Kisame-san!!" Keirei said, bringing up his shoulders in obvious agitation. Kisame bit his tongue and forced himself to turn around.

"I love you, Dariru." Kisame spoke loudly enough for her to hear and quickly walked out.

"Kisame!?"

The door shut behind him and he released his breathe, wrapping his face with his functional hand. It was for the best. Dariru needed to be treated without feeling stressed in any way. He wanted nothing but the best for her, even if it meant having to leave her. She was everything, and he couldn't risk fucking it up when he didn't have to. His black slid against the back of the door and he finally settled on the cold ground. He could deal with this. The blue man ran a hand through his spiky blue hair and clenched his eyes shut. He just prayed yet again, that Dariru wouldn't have anything wrong.

* * *

Aw so sad. I felt bad in this one.


	63. Chapter 63

I think.... even though I'm so preppy, I'm incredibly prone to writing tragedy and drama. It's a weird contradiction. Like Blood Thirsty Me. She's so bubbly when you talk to her... then you find she's into monsters with a fetish to fish-men. (:D)

* * *

Chapter 63

"Kisame!" Dariru called out to him, even when he had disappeared behind the door. She tried to sit up to go after him, but she was pushed back down with an authoritative shove by the doctor. It was quite a shock to feel such force coming from the once kind and sometimes timid man that it made the girl sit perfectly still when he told her to. Keirei ran a hand through his hair, scratching bits of his head in tired thought. The sudden attitude made the injure girl feel like she were in trouble.

With a calm and steady voice, the doctor asked, "Ishiko-san told me what her brother did to you." The statement made Dariru stiffen uncomfortably, the horrible memory suddenly rushing back to her head so quickly that the room began to spin. He licked his lips nervously before continuing, "I know this may be a little hard for you but...can you remember if he came inside of you?"

"No," she answered immediately. It wasn't that she couldn't remember, but that she refused to indulge in those memories. Just the thought made her feel like puking.

"Alright," Keirei sighed, walking over to the skin and getting a glass of water. He handed it to her before saying, "Drink it all. I will keep making you drink until you need to pee."

Immediately, the girl choked on the water, spitting most of it back into its glass container. "What for!?" Her question made Keirei roll his eyes as if the solution were quite obvious.

"So you can take a pregnancy test," he answered quickly, rummaging through the drawers for any of the small plastic tests. "If you're pregnant then we need to put you on the proper vitamins and--"

"I'd kill it," She interrupted, causing the doctor to freeze in shock and confusion. Had he really heard her right?

"Um...e-excuse me?" Keirei stammered, pulling out a pregnancy test from a cabinet.

"I don't want to carry anyone's child, except for Kisame's," she stated with determination, "if I am pregnant, and it's Keisuke's, I'm going to kill it."

It was strange to hear such hateful words come from the once gentle girl's mouth. Out of all of the things the girl had ever said or done, Keirei was terrified by this the most. In his opinion, to kill new life was certainly unfair; it was not the child's fault that it was created or that its father was someone whom the mother despised. And though he had thought Dariru to be a loving, caring soul, he knew now that this sudden hate was surely a symptom from being in an organization full of criminals. And he prayed, for her sanity's sake, that the young girl was not pregnant.

She downed the rest of the water before holding the empty glass to the doctor, "More water please." He nodded silently before complying in her polite request. Three glasses later, she announced that she needed to "go".

Keirei found a pan and gave it to her along with the pregnancy test. "I'm sorry you won't be able to use a proper restroom. But I can't take the chance of your wound re-opening." after she nodded in understanding, with a bright pink blush on her face, the doctor added, "If you'd like, I will wait outside until you're done. Just holler when you are."

Dariru nodded hastily, "Yes, thank you." Keirei gave her a smile before leaving the room to let the girl go about her business.

The moment the door closed, a hand gripped his shoulder and spun the frightened man around. The familiar blue face of Kisame was just inches away from Keirei's; however, there was a mixture of anger and sadness in the criminal's expression and voice, "Well? Is she...you know...?" The word "pregnant" was not uttered, but the doctor heard it anyway.

"I don't know," Keirei sighed, trying to calm his frightened heart. "She's just now using the pregnancy test." The giant hand slid off of the man's shoulder, an air of uncertainty filling the space around them. He could tell many negative things were running through the large man's head, and it made the doctor inclined to try to cheer him up, mostly for Dariru's sake. "You know...if she is pregnant, there's a chance that it could be yours." A small flicker of hope flashed in the man's eyes, but the rest of his body seemed to tense with anxiety also. It made the doctor furrow his brow in confusion; surely that would have made Kisame happy to know it could be his seed?

Kisame bit his lower lip before responding, "I know..." Keirei would have asked what was wrong, but the door had creaked open to reveal a relieved looking Dariru. Kisame's face lit up at the sight of her, but Keirei glared at her.

"What are you doing out of bed!?" He began to usher her back to the bed, scolding her as she limped slowly forward, "You could have torn open the stitches! Silly girl, I told you to holler when you were done!" The door closed, but not until Kisame had slipped silently into the room. He wanted to hear the results personally...

"Well?" The doctor huffed after the girl had been forced back into bed, "let's see what it says." He took the plastic device from the beaming girl, whose eyes were fixed on the shadow hiding in the other side of the room. There was silence, and Kisame was holding his breath with suspense as the doctor's eyes scanned over the test results expertly. A small smirk crossed the man's face before he looked down at his patient, "Congratulations. You're not pregnant." A loud sigh of relief came out of Kisame, the adrenaline in his veins beginning to die down.  
Keirei immediately threw the test into the waste disposal and gave a small sigh of relief himself.  
"Now lie back down Dariru-san, you still need bed rest." Keirei went over to the cabinet and started to prepare a solution. Kisame, licking his lips went over to Dariru, and she looked up at him wearing a large smile. Something was off, as his hand clasped over hers he could feel that her small hands were clammy. She was as nervous about everything as he was, she was just a little better at hiding it. He assisted her to get back into bed, slowly and carefully as to not tear open her stitches. After what happened between him and Kakuzu, he wasn't sure if the man would be so willing to help out if she needed them again.  
"What are you doing there Dr. Keirei?" Dariru asked, craning her neck to attempt to look at the solution. Keirei got a metal rod and stirred the solution, and it looked faintly green.  
"A sedative, and a pain killer. This'll make sure you get a good, painless deep sleep." Keirei answered, turning and holding onto the glass. Kisame noticeably eyed it.  
"Don't worry, you can stay Kisame-san, once she takes this there won't be much that could wake her up." Keirei eerily assured. Dariru didn't seem to have any objections though, but he didn't really expect her to protest to begin with. After having to remember what happened and take a damned pregnancy test, sleep may seem like a huge relief at this point. So, Kisame couldn't help but nod and give a small smile to his lover in reassurance.  
"Don't worry Dariru, I'll be here"

Itachi felt like screaming. Ren had directed him down the hallway, and already, grabbing the key and placing it in his pocket he felt like he was playing some game again. Opening the door, the lights automatically switched on, and the door closed in behind him, some new mechanism locking it. The one lone table, crusted with dust stood in the middle of the rusty room with a small chest on it. Feeling the metal skeleton key in his pocket and reading the mediocre finger painting, 'Open Me' on the chest he felt inclined to open it.  
The lock clicked as it slowly turned and the chest opening, looking inside Itachi's eyebrows lifted slightly at a small tape player. This seemed oddly familiar somehow, but he reached in and grabbed it, checking and saw it already had a tape inside. Easing his beating heart, Itachi pressed the play button and it took a few seconds for the voice he most dreaded to hear came on.  
"Hello, Itachi-san," Keisuke's oh too happy tone came on, slightly mechanical like from the effects alone of being heard on a tape.  
"For so long you have lost the meaning of life, only living for the sake of your brother, but even that, had led on to the wrong path. You have hurt so many, even killing Kakuzu's first child, to save your brother. Now, life you find insignificant, and life you find precious will be set equal on the scale. Long ago, I had set a special set of talismans into both Dariru and Sasuke. And both will be set into motion or, "activation" as soon as one is touched by Tsuwa blood." He took a break to cough. Itachi knew he must have made this recently, he wasn't this sick when he first met him.  
"I know my sister is kind for one reason or another that if Dariru were to suffer an accident my sister would donate her own blood to save her. And that was what set this test into action. If either Sasuke or Dariru were to die now, the other would too. The one you obey for the sake of your brother is now an equal threat as any other person in the world. You only obey Madara because you think anything else insignificant won't have a claim on your brother's life, but you are wrong."  
"Dariru is the key to your brother's life, your life."  
"Save an insignificant life, and you shall save yours. Kill Madara and your dirty secret and the hold you have never denied on Sasuke's life will be lifted. Allow Dariru to die, however, and your brother will die right along with her. You must learn that all lives are equal, even if they aren't a threat to yours. Better get going Itachi-san, Ishiko's clock is ticking, and you know more than anybody, if she dies too, her blood that activated the talismans will shut them off as well, and you lose the entire game. Make your choice."  
As soon as the tape ended the device was crushed in Itachi's angered grip and he didn't care about the plastic and metal that cut his hand.  
"Damn it, even in death Keisuke knows how to screw with me."

The infirmary was silent; even the slow breathing of its only two occupants was silent. After stroking the side of her face and whispering promises into her ear for quite sometime, Kisame had laid his head down on the girl's chest, just above her small breasts, and had fallen asleep. It had been a little uncomfortable at first, but the sound of her beating heart was like a lullaby that had slowly carried him into the numbness of slumber. The only comfort he was aware of was her body and of sleep. Good, well-needed sleep. The to were in such a deep state that neither noticed the sulking figure staring at them through the door's glass window, its red and black eyes narrowed into an undecided glare at the female. Not even the faint creak of the door opening and closing was enough to stir the two lovers. Without another sound, the figure hid itself in the shadows expertly; just like it had been trained to do for most of its life.

Minutes passed before one of Dariru's fingers twitched unpleasantly. Something inside of her was forcing her body to wake up from the heavy dose of drugs that had allowed her to sleep. At first she ignored it, trying to let the wonderful drug take back control of her already numbed senses; but when the pain started to surface, she couldn't help but do as her body commanded. It came from her eyes, a strange burning sensation that she had never felt before. The first she thought was a simple side-effect and that it would go away soon; it didn't. The burning seemed to spread from the backs of her eyes around to the front. With a tired groan, Dariru raised a drowsy hand and rubbed one eye, hoping it would get rid of the burning. However, it just seemed to make it worse, for the nerves in her eyes began to sting as if she were having a headache. When both hands clasped over each closed eye, the pain became irritable. Her legs began to bend back and forth slowly, the heels pushing against the bedding as if it would channel all of the pain out. More pain, and the bending legs went straight as her back arched and her mouth opened in a silent scream.

Her sudden movement woke Kisame, making him lift his head and open his tired eyes in time to see her hands over her eyes and mouth open. At first he thought she were stretching and had merely forgotten he was with her; but when she inhaled, a painful wail followed, immediately making all of his senses alert. The blue man stood up so fast that the stool he had been sitting in fell over, but his attention was solely focused on the girl who covered her eyes and screamed.

"Dariru!" He hollered over her screams, gripping her wrist with his only able hand and tried to tug her hand away. "Dariru, calm down! What's wrong? What's happened?"

The screams paused for a moment, heavy breathing replacing the sound of pain as she tried to form words. "My...! My eyes...! My eyes are burning!" Her chest trembled with uncontrollable sobs. "It burns! It burns so much!" She shrieked, the palms of her hands digging further into the source of pain. The pressure from her hands did not help ease the pain one bit, but they were a strange comfort to her confused body. At least she knew what was creating the pressure, unlike the burning sensation. She even began to feel a warm liquid ooze from beneath her squeezed eyelids, and she believed it to be tears.

Kisame tried to calm her by making "shushing" noises, but her body refused to stop in its thrashing and her nails seemed to dig themselves into her forehead in an effort to keep her hands in place. With more force than was probably necessary, the blue man tugged at her wrist, "Let me see. Calm down, calm down! Let me just look and see what's wrong..." When her hand revealed her closed eye, Kisame could have sworn he was dreaming. There was blood leaking from her closed eyelids like tears, trickling down her cheek and into her dark brown hair. It wasn't until she had yanked her wrist out of his grip did he realize that this was no dream. This was really happening; Dariru's eyes were bleeding.

The first thing he wanted to do was to chase down the doctor; thinking he would know what was going on here. However, Kisame did not want to abandon his lover, not when she was in such a state as this. The blue man cursed beneath his breath before charging at the infirmary door. "DOCTOR!" He hollered frantically at the hallway after the door had opened. Another wail from Dariru made Kisame's heart beat faster in fear. "DOCTOR KEIREI! GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" And with that, he slammed the door just in time to hear water running from a faucet.

Kisame turned quickly to see his partner turning off the water and wringing out a rag. The same partner who had taken Dariru away from him and had practically handed her over to the now dead Keisuke. If it weren't for that traitor, none of this trauma would have been placed on his lover's mind. With three long and silent strides, Kisame was behind Itachi and had grabbed the younger man's trademark ponytail in a death grip before yanking his head back. Itachi let out a yowl, his pale hands instinctively reaching behind him to attack his opponent, but Kisame just stepped back, pulling the man with him.

"You'd better let me go," Itachi snarled, his hands at his sides in surrender. "I'm sure I can help her."

With a tug of the man's hair, Kisame growled, "Why should I trust you? It's because of you that this is happening! If you hadn't have been working for that bastard then--"

"He had Sasuke!" Itachi interrupted, hoping the sudden fact would reason with his large partner. "If I didn't do what Keisuke wanted, he would have killed my brother. I was forced to do it Kisame-san." There was a long pause, the only noise being Dariru's screams and the bed squeaking from her constant movements.

Kisame scoffed and shoved his partner forward, releasing the ponytail. "You have a lot of nerve to show up here," he grumbled, eying the Uchiha suspiciously as he walked cautiously over to the wiggling girl. "And since when do you care about what happens to others? I always thought you were a 'live and let die' kind of guy."

"I still am," Itachi grumbled, trying to pry the girl's hands from her bleeding eyes. "Help me hold her arms down," With a quick tug, the Uchiha managed to rip her hands from her head, allowing Kisame to gather both wrists into one hand. Dariru continued to struggle, even as Itachi began to wipe away the blood with the damp cloth before placing it over her eyes.

It was actually quite a chore to keep the girl's arms down, considering that Kisame had to make do with only one hand. It made him glad that his hands were so big and hers so small. "So then why are you helping her?" The blue man questioned his partner, still not too eager in trusting him. "Is this your way of apologizing?"

Itachi glanced at his large partner as if contemplating something in his mind. The younger man let out a sigh before shrugging, "No. I'm doing this because I simply cannot afford to let her die." A furious glare of jealousy was directed at the man from his blue partner, forcing an explanation out of the Uchiha unless he wanted a fight. "All you need to know for now is that if she dies, so does Sasuke."

"And why is that?" Kisame dared to ask with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. If it involved his Dariru, then he needed to know every detail. But when Itachi opened his mouth to speak, the infirmary door burst open to reveal a panting Keirei.

"Good God," the doctor breathed when his eyes focused on the scene before him, "What did you do to her?"

It took a lot of willpower for Kisame not to snatch the man up by his throat. "I did nothing!" Of course, he was unable to stop himself from releasing Dariru's wrists in order to grab the man's white collared coat. He brought the baffled man to his face before saying dangerously, "Never accuse me of hurting her!" With a small shove, the short-tempered man released the doctor.

"Yes, well..." Keirei straightened his coat, but his hands paused as his attention caught something far more interesting. "Oh no..." He pulled the blankets off of the now still and quiet girl before lifting up her tank-top. Fresh blood was seeping through the torn stitches, which had broken when the girl was writhing in pain. Immediately, the doctor turned to Kisame and ordered frantically, "Go and get Kakuzu right now!"

The blue man glanced warily at Itachi. He did not trust his partner, not with his lover's life on the line. "No, I want to stay with her," Kisame snapped defiantly, "Have Itachi go in--"

"THERE IS NO TIME FOR ARGUING!" Keirei hollered, stunning both Kisame and Itachi. The doctor pointed at the door before saying in a quieter tone, "Go and get Kakuzu, or I will refuse to treat her!"

"You wouldn't dare..." Kisame seethed, pointed teeth showing like a mad dog.

Before Keirei could utter a retort, Itachi huffed, "I'll get Kakuzu. Just make sure she doesn't touch her eyes anymore." Without another word, Itachi left the infirmary quickly. He knew that wound of hers was serious; and for the sake of his beloved little brother, he could not let her die.

–

Ishiko was fast asleep next to a naked Kakuzu, who had made sure his pregnant lover was properly covered with blankets to keep her warm. He was just staring at her, still unable to believe that they were able to have intercourse without it being too awkward. Then again, he wasn't complaining about it either. Their relationship was back to "normal"; at least he believed it was. His eyes wandered to the large bump the poked from beneath the blankets. With a hesitant hand, Kakuzu touched her belly where their children rested and continued to develop. How many months were left before Ishiko was expected to go into labor? Three months? Two? The time had gone by so fast with all that had happened that it frightened him at how close she was to delivery. They still hadn't even gotten diapers for their sons yet.

The hurried knock on the door pulled Kakuzu from his thoughts and his hand from her stomach. Ishiko groaned at the disturbance, but he rubbed her shoulder reassuringly, "Stay here. I'll get it," he said before getting out of bed reluctantly. The man made sure to take his time in putting his pants and shirt back on, ignoring the hurrying pace of the knocks. It was a big surprise to him to see Itachi standing on the other side of the door when he opened it.

Before the surprise turned into anger, Itachi spoke, "You're needed in the infirmary. Dariru-san has torn open her stitches."

Kakuzu was half-inclined to say "no", and close the door on the Uchiha; but he knew that would only upset Ishiko if he refused to help her friend. He grumbled to himself before saying, "Fine."

"How did she break the stitches?" Ishiko's tired voice made both men stop in their tracks.

"She wouldn't stop moving," Itachi answered quickly before making his way back to the infirmary. "We need to hurry Kakuzu-san. She may be losing a lot of blood." After giving Ishiko a reassuring nod, the tan man went after the oldest Uchiha. It was hard to fight down the anger that boiled every time his eyes lingered on the younger man; after all, he had helped Keisuke out in his plan to kidnap Ishiko, and that was something Kakuzu was having a hard time forgiving.

"What are you doing here Uchiha?" Kakuzu mumbled. "Is this some trick Keisuke has planned?"

Itachi did not even glance at the stitched man when he spoke, "Keisuke is dead. And I'm here to ensure the well-being of someone I care about." Kakuzu couldn't help the confused glare he shot at the man. Itachi cared for someone other than himself? It was a little hard to believe, especially if that someone were Dariru. As far as he could tell, the Uchiha was not even interested in the opposite sex.

"And who might that be?" Kakuzu questioned, but he didn't expect an answer. It was no surprise to him when Itachi did not make any response. The silence was his trademark to every conversation. When they got to the infirmary both Keirei and Kisame looked exhausted and frightened. The blue man was holding the girl's hands down with the only usable hand he had, while the doctor was too busy applying pressure to her re-opened wound.

Without looking, Keirei spoke, "Itachi-san was it? Well, could you please check her eyes? And Kakuzu, come here please." As Kakuzu wandered over to the doctor, he couldn't help but watch as the black-haired Uchiha lifted the cloth that covered the quivering Dariru's eyes. The underside of the white cloth was stained with a bright red color that he could only assume was blood. Curiosity wanted him to ask why her eyes were bleeding, but he had to focus on a different task.

Again, the tan man focused on his tendrils as they weaved in and out of her skin. This time, he made sure to put a little more chakra in the black thread, making it stronger than the last stitching. It did not take him long to finish up, especially since he was impatient to return to his Ishiko. They had to make up for their lost time together. However, the doctor stopped him by clasping his hand on the tan man's broad shoulder.

"Please, stay here a while Kakuzu-san," The man seemingly begged, "We may still need your assistance."

With a reluctant nod, Kakuzu stared down at the shivering girl that his lover was so fond of. What was it that had made her stitches tear? Unable to hold back the question any longer, the tan man spoke, "Why are her eyes bleeding?" Itachi froze for a moment, but copied Keirei when the old man stared at Kisame.

The blue man shook his head, staring at the tiny hands that he held captive. "I...I don't know what happened. When I woke up, she was screaming and rubbing her eyes. She said that they were burning...but...I don't know what could have made her eyes burn." With a suspicious glance, his white eyes landed on the doctor. "Surely it wasn't that medicine you gave her?" There was a hint of malice in the blue man's voice, but the doctor seemed to ignore it.

"No...it wasn't that," Keirei confirmed, "There's no way it was. Even if she were allergic to it, it wouldn't have affected her eyes."

A small huff came from Kakuzu as he crossed his arms, his emerald eyes never leaving the Uchiha. "Did this happen right around when Itachi appeared?" Kisame froze before slowly turning his head to his partner.

"Yes...as a matter of fact...it did," The blue man said slowly.

Itachi held up his hands in defense before saying, "I did not cause her to bleed. But...I can explain why her eyes started to bleed out..."

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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


	64. Chapter 64

Thanks for the one review and we hope to see more.

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Chapter Sixty-Four

"This is a little excessive, what was Keisuke thinking?" Tadashi said from the shadows of the hall. Watching Dariru thrash around like that was a little nerve-wrecking. Especially since she had been in the original plans, but now, everything had changed. Ren only scoffed with his crossed arms and hunched over a little more, his back digging into the wall of the base.

"Keisuke was thinking of keeping Dariru alive and teaching Itachi a lesson while he was at it. Keisuke hated the way Itachi thought, so he is being punished." Ren said, tilting his head a little and letting his bright yellow hair slide into his face. Tadashi turned only a corner of his mouth in understanding.

"Yes, but even Keisuke must have known about Sasuke's condition of the eyes. Why would he want to put Dariru through that as well? I thought even she had a special place in his heart." Tadashi questioned. Really he and Keisuke never exactly saw eye to eye, Keisuke preferred more hostile repercussions and Tadashi was more of a bleeding heart. But he didn't deny his will, evil people in the world had to be punished, but now that it affected Dariru as well, it entered a completely different ball game. Ren gave a small chuckle.

"You might not know, but this may be her punishment as well." Ren admitted. Tadashi looked at the younger male in surprise. Why in the world would Dariru be punished? She was a pure soul.

"Why!?" He questioned.

"Because she stole Ishiko's heart as well, this may be his way of punishing her for receiving Ishiko's love instead of him. He was always the jealous type you know that." Ren smiled. Tadashi's lips tightened into a fine line. He was caught in crossroads. His love for Dariru as conflicting with his love for his mistress, and it was a conflict he had never had to face before. The two girls were just like sisters, and he could not love one without loving the other. And Ren knew that. Tadashi reached and lightly touched his marred skin on his arm, scorched into his skin forever was Ishiko's name in kanji. Tadashi sighed.

"If that was true then why wasn't Kakuzu tested yet? Why only Itachi?" Tadashi said, eyeing Kisame threaten Itachi and yanked on the man's pony tail. He could tell they were arguing about something, but he was never actually very good at reading lips. Ren joined in watching the conversation play out.

"Keisuke fully understood Kakuzu, in his own way, loves Dariru as well. Itachi is only the first test subject; I'm merely the referee in this. Itachi hasn't learned his lesson yet. Next time, I'll be the team captain." Ren pushed himself off the wall and started heading towards the darkness of the shadows in the hallway, Tadashi followed suit as Itachi walked out. And they were silent for a moment until the oldest Uchiha was just out of earshot.

"And Keisuke still expects Ishiko's love?" Tadashi questioned. His amethyst eyes froze over a second, staring at Dariru's struggling breathes and his hands joined, tightening around each other. At least she wasn't going through all that alone; she had Kisame by her side. Ren huffed.

"I'm not sure about that. Keisuke may have loved her, but his entire agenda didn't revolve around her." Ren said in a slightly disgusted tone, Tadashi managed to catch it and he smiled a little.

"Zany now, aren't we?" Tadashi asked in an amused tone. Ren scoffed.

"Please, I'm not incestuous like Keisuke. She's my sister!" Ren denied, waving his hands a little to prove his point. Tadashi shrugged.

"Not fully by blood. You're only her half-brother." Ren turned and narrowed his eyes and finally went silent, motioning Tadashi to follow as they hid again and Kakuzu was now in the infirmary. Ren narrowed his eyes at the man and he looked up at Tadashi.

"Never mind that. Let's go and see if Ishiko revealed anything, I want to make sure she's okay too." Ren started off, heading a different way to where Kakuzu and the rest couldn't see. But Tadashi lingered a little, his eyes trained on Dariru. Maybe Keisuke had it wrong.

"Tadashi! Come on!" Tadashi turned his head and started walking.

"I'm coming, Ren-san!"

---

"Listen, Ren's involved too." Itachi held up his palms, showing his submission as the rest of the men stared at him expectantly.

"Ren? The Iwa Guard leader?" Kisame questioned, lifting an eyebrow. Itachi nodded, closing his eyes momentarily.

"How can Ren be involved in it? He's… He's part of Iwa Guard." Kakuzu resisted in revealing Ren was actually Ishiko's half brother, but once he recalled that, he understood and assumed things he couldn't prove about the mysterious boy whose eyes shone something for Ishiko he misjudged. The love and affection Ren showed, turned out to be nothing more than withheld honest brotherly love. Unlike Keisuke's version of sibling love. Itachi chuckled.

"Did you honestly not know? How do you think Keisuke had been able to collect the information and get into Iwa again without being discovered by the Tsuchikage, he had someone on the inside, he had _Ren_ under his wing?" He glanced over at Kakuzu. Kakuzu didn't know that much. All he knew was that Ren was related to Ishiko, whether she knew about it or not he wasn't sure. But this new information only made him feel even more uneasy to leave her alone.

"And you know don't you? About Ren's lineage?" Kisame's eyes snapped up accusingly to Kakuzu, if he had information about anything that related to why Dariru was currently like this, then he wanted to know. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes in return to Itachi, angry for the man selling him out on knowing information. Itachi decided to speak up again when Kakuzu said nothing.

"Kakuzu knows about where Ren comes from." Itachi said and finally looked back at his partner, lowering down to Kisame's hold on Dariru's weak hand. Kisame looked up and growled.

"What do you know Kakuzu-san? Tell me!!" He demanded, revealing his razor teeth and wearing a scowl. Kakuzu was silent for a moment before sighing. He might as well tell; Kisame wouldn't function well if he didn't have all the information he wanted.

"Ren is… Ishiko's half brother. Her father wasn't faithful." Kisame's eyes widened for a second before he managed to calm himself down. Dariru only tilted her head a little, feeling the tension in her lover. She didn't seem aware of what was going on, but Kisame tried to make her feel as comfortable as possible, so he decided to make himself feel calm so that she would. But it was very hard to do so.

"So her Dad had an illegitimate child and now he's working for Keisuke-teme!? Where is that little bastard!? I'll kill him!!" Kisame growled out, hunching a little and Keirei finally decided to get involved. After hearing all of the new information was a little too much. This involved a threat to Iwagakure security; this was just too much for a simple civilian doctor to handle.

"Kisame-san if you're going to yell please do it outside! You'll disturb Dariru-san." Unable to control his rage anymore, Kisame snapped back at the doctor, "Fine! And while I'm out there, I'm going to kill that little bastard!" With those words, the blue man ran out of the infirmary, avoiding Kakuzu's hand when it reached out for him in an effort to stop him. A small grumble came from Kakuzu as he stormed after the raging criminal. Though he did not have a soft spot for Keisuke's subordinate, he knew it would only hurt Ishiko if Ren were to die; it would hurt her even more if she found out he was her half brother. It was something that he just could not allow to have happen again.

"Kakuzu-san wait--!" The doctor tried to call after him, but the man's pleads were unheard as the tan man stalked out of the infirmary.

Kisame had no idea where Ren was or where he could be; he didn't even stop to try to think of the possible places the half Tsuwa could be. Instead, he burst into rooms with teeth bared and anger building every time the room turned out to be empty. With a snarl, he would slam the doors close and keep looking. "REEEEEN!" Kisame roared at the sight of another empty room. "COME ON OUT YOU BASTAAAARD!"

The man's angry screams reached the ears of Tadashi, Ren and Ishiko; all of whom were in Kakuzu's room. Ishiko had just gotten dressed after taking a shower when Tadashi and Ren entered her room.

The two men had asked her how she and the twins were doing when they heard Kisame yell. Ishiko and Tadashi glanced at Ren in confusion, wondering what he could have done to upset the blue Akatsuki member so badly. A nearby door slammed shut, making Tadashi jump in surprise as they all stared at the door.

Ishiko stood up with a sigh, her hand going to her belly. "I'll go see what's wrong." When she made her way to the door, Ren tried to stop her but she shot him a glare, "I don't think Kisame-san is willing to listen to anything you have to say Ren." The blonde-haired man back down, just as the door to the room burst open, barely missing the pregnant woman. With a small gasp, her hands went to her stomach as she took several steps back from the seething Kisame. His white eyes scanned the room feverishly, his pointed teeth showing off dangerously. Ishiko was half-expecting him to begin foaming at the mouth he looked so hostile...

When his eyes landed on his target, Kisame lunged at him with his hand stretched out to grab the blonde man. Ren jumped away, only to be met with a kick to the abdomen. All of the wind rushed out of him, his body instinctively curling in from the pain and sudden lack of oxygen. A massive hand wrapped itself over his face before he was lifted up of the ground. Ren heard Ishiko and Tadashi scream out in protest, but their words became incoherent to his ears when Kisame slammed the blonde's head onto the ground.

The back of his head felt like it had split, and for a moment, Ren wanted to just shut his eyes and sleep; but he forced his eyelids to stay open, especially when the blue man's hand was forced from his face.

Kakuzu had come in and had punched Kisame's bad shoulder, making the shark-man howl in pain before turning on his new attacker. The tan man was able to avoid Kisame's lunge and wrapped his arms around the furious man's neck, cutting off all circulation. Kisame writhed frantically, his lungs and head begging for oxygen. The room began to spin and darken, his eyelids becoming too heavy to keep open.

The struggling stopped and the moment Kisame's body went limp, Kakuzu released the hold he had. The blue man crumpled to the floor, unconscious but not dead.

Very slowly, Ren sat up, the back of his head protesting in pain. Ren growled and looked over at his half sister, looking down at Kisame's limp body with her mouth gaping wide and a hand inches from it.

"Damn it." Ren grumbling and rubbed the back of his head, feeling a warm substance sticking to his hair. Tadashi seemed first to notice and went over to his side. Kakuzu looked down for a second; waiting to counter in case Kisame suddenly sprung up, especially with Ishiko so near, he needed to make sure she was okay so as she didn't go into early-labor from the shock.

"Kakuzu!" Ishiko gasped, backing away a little ways and her hand cradled her stomach. He immediately went over to her, holding her by her forearm and keeping her from falling. Her breathing became uneven and he could feel that she was using him to support herself with all her might. His eyes widened in fear and all he could hear in his ears were his loud hearts beating from panic.

"Ishiko? Ishiko what's wrong?" Ishiko groaned and Ren gasped while Tadashi went over to check on Kisame, feeling for his pulse and checking for any injuries.

"You bastard you better let go of her!" Ren demanded, still holding his head. Kakuzu looked at the boy and scoffed.

"Well you better learn how avoid Kisame. They know about your little association with Keisuke, and you still act like you can be Ishiko's best friend." He felt Ishiko stiffen in his arms and something darkened in Ren's eyes and he took a step forward, a small smile developing on his lips and he glanced over at Kisame's unconscious body being inspected by Tadashi.

"You must understand; if I go down for this, Ishiko goes down too." Kakuzu's eyebrows furrowed.

"Ishiko… Ishiko didn't know about this," A hand on his forearm made him stop talking and he looked down at his little angel he had loved for so many years. Her pained eyes met his.

"You… didn't know about this… didn't you?" Kakuzu tried even though he knew the answer. Ishiko gulped and her wiped some sweat from her forehead.

"I… I just couldn't bring myself to tell you anything. I… We… Keisuke was my Onii-sama… I couldn't bring myself to disobey his will. Keisuke really wanted to die." Some tears had been brought to her eyes. How could she still be so tightly bound to her brother? He had planned to kill Dariru and perhaps even kill their babies. Why would she still want to carry out his will? Ren laughed.

"You wouldn't understand Kakuzu-teme. Blood will always stick by blood. And face it; you will never reach that standard." Ishiko looked up at him with a small glare.

"Ren shut up." Ishiko's grip on Kakuzu's forearm tightened noticeably, but even so, with her body so close to his, Kakuzu had never felt so alone. No matter what, Ishiko would always love and remain loyal to Keisuke. For a split second, he wondered if Keisuke was the one asking, would Ishiko even turn on him? He had never seen it in such a dramatic light before, in such retrospect, that he had always forgiven Ishiko for her mistakes in choosing the right path, the one that she chose for herself and not the one her brother had talked her into taking. But she had truly chosen this time, Keisuke wasn't here to talk her into anything, this was purely her choice to remain quietly about all this.

"And you, Ishiko! You always defend him as well! What has this man ever done for you!? Why do you choose him? Keisuke had done so much for you and you have no one to blame but yourself for this one, driving Keisuke-sama to suicide!-"

"Stop it!" Tadashi spoke up, shooting up as soon as Ren crossed the in crossable line. Ishiko turned and hid her face into Kakuzu's shirt. Ren bit his lip but turned the other way.

"Whatever. This game is too far out to be stopped now." Ren spat and gave Kakuzu one last glare before turning on his heels and walking out, slamming the door in the process. Ishiko noticeably winced. Tadashi huffed and looked at the couple with a sympathetic look. Kakuzu looked furious though.

"It'll be alright, I can explain everything if you'd like-"

"Leave us. Ishiko can explain everything to me." Kakuzu said. Ishiko didn't say anything in protest though and he adjusted himself so as his arm was wrapped around her small shoulder and she looked like a child being taken away for a scolding. Tadashi shut his mouth, if Ishiko seemed to be fine with it then so was he. But he ran over to Kisame and lifted the huge man up, struggling a bit.

Looking at Ishiko he only gave a small smile, "Keep safe, Tsuwa-senpai." He grunted a little lifting such a heavier man than himself. But he made his way outside and Kakuzu sat Ishiko down. He made sure to keep his eyes focused on her wet hair.

"Tell me." Ishiko couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"I know about Keisuke's will. All of his will. And that Ren is my…" She sighed, not being able to say the completely title. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes.

"And what is all of his will?" Kakuzu was determined to know.

"Dariru… Dariru-chan and Sasuke have been set… 'equal' in a way." Ishiko paused and looked up, only to see Kakuzu's eyes held no mercy this time. He really meant business.

"Go on."

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Reviews are much appreciated!


	65. Chapter 65

I should really get into writing soap operas.

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Chapter 65

When Ishiko had finished, all Kakuzu could do was just sit there as he tried to absorb all of the information. Dariru's and Sasuke's lives were now dependent on the other; if one dies, then so does the other. If one receives an injury, then the other will feel that same pain. It certainly explained the blood from Dariru's eyes and why Itachi was suddenly giving a shit about someone else. But the news made the man wonder how long his lover had planned to keep this information from them? Surely it would have been better for all of them if she had spoken up in the first place? But he could not bring himself to pin this on her; this was Keisuke's doing, not hers. This was his fault, not his sister's. One thing was for sure, however; the moment Kisame finds out about this, he will be watching over Sasuke and Dariru like a hawk.

Ishiko's fingers fiddled the edge of his t-shirt, which she was wearing since she had no clothes stored in this base, and would glance up at him nervously. She knew this was important information and it needed to be treated seriously. But the looming silence was something she was tired of, "What happened to Dariru?"

"Her eyes were bleeding from the looks of it," Kakuzu said and noticed her wince.

"No doubt it was because of Sasuke-san..." She mumbled, looking up suddenly when her lover stood. "Where are you going?"

Kakuzu looked down at her for a long time before he answered. "To see if Kisame has woken up yet. And if he is awake, I'm going to tell him what you just told me."

"Wait!" She stood up slowly, cradling her belly as she did, her lover reaching out for her instinctively to help. She gripped his strong forearm gratefully, giving him a smile before explaining. "I want to go with you. I need to see how Dariru is doing." In all honesty, Kakuzu did not want her going anywhere. The one thing Ishiko needed was rest, and lots of it.

"No," he said sternly, "you need to stay here and--"

"Please Kakuzu," the girl looked up at him with her brown eyes, a pleading look making his defenses weaken. "I need to see her."

With a reluctant grumble, he said, "Fine." Before he scooped her up in his arms carefully, receiving a surprised squeak from her as she placed one hand on her stomach and the other around his neck. If she was going anywhere, he was not going to let her put too much effort into it.

It still did not stop the glare she shot at him, "I can walk just fine Kakuzu."

He rolled his eyes, "Humor me for once." With a small huff, she made no other objections as he carried her out of his room and towards the infirmary. She finally decided not to say anything in protest. After all, they've been separated for almost two weeks, when she was in the most vital stage of her pregnancy, he must have missed her. And this may have been his way of getting close to her again, and plus, he wasn't rejecting her in any way for keeping her brother's will a secret. Though she would have to have a word or two with Ren for keeping her in the dark about Dariru being hurt tremendously. Her feelings felt knotted, and she assumed it was only because of her crazy pregnant woman hormones.

---

Ren sat, cross armed as he watched Dariru's steady breathing. Keirei had decided to hook her up to a new device, one that led to a new machine with a small tube that had some plastic thing that went up when Dariru exhaled, and went down when she inhaled. Such fine machinery, but it was nothing compared to something he could have made himself. Given, these were medical machines, not weapons of war and torture. Tadashi finally came in, grunting along as he carried Kisame in. Finally he looked up, half-expecting help but he just shifted along when he didn't receive any. Finally Tadashi looked up, not seeing any handsome doctor run to his or Kisame's aid.

"Where's Dr. Keirei?" Tadashi asked; concentrated chakra to his legs to have a stronger hold on the unconscious Kisame. Ren only narrowed his eyes, but his body didn't move an inch.

"He's out negotiating with Pein for more medical supplies." Ren answered with a small sneer. Tadashi looked at Dariru innocently.

"If you plan to kill her, Ishiko will be upset with you. So will Deidara, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Konan, listen; there's too much risk in killing her." Tadashi warned, setting Kisame down, and making sure to straighten his neck as to not sleep on it weird and so he won't wake up in pain. He stood up, fully standing his ground against the half-Tsuwa, and Ren's eyes hardened.

"Just what about Keisuke… did Ishiko not see? Didn't she see that he loved and prized her above all else?" The question made Tadashi stumble a little bit. But he decided to answer for his mistress anyway.

"Ishiko is a pacifist, you should know that." Tadashi reasoned; his voice hard as well.

"Yet she chooses Dariru? She chooses Kakuzu? She chose a life of never being able to be in Iwa with me?" Ren said with a hint of disgust. Tadashi remained quiet but sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you alright?" Tadashi asked; referring to the boy's still bleeding wound. Ren winced.

"I'm fine. Just go back and make sure that bear of a man doesn't squish my sister." Ren ordered. Tadashi sighed again, Ren was only chosen as Keisuke's successor because of his bloodline. Other than that Keisuke probably wouldn't have trusted him with a toothpick. Dariru turned her head; the bloodied bandages over her eyes seemed eerie. Her heart monitor started to race and the new machine started to go up and down unevenly.

"Dariru-san!" Tadashi cried, heading over to her but stopped when Ren grabbed his forearm.

"Go. Find. My. Sister. Tadashi." Ren growled. Tadashi looked up at Dariru anyway.

"Dariru-san, I'm sorry." Tadashi lowered his head and hesitantly walked out.

---

The ceiling was white and shadows danced across its surface. She sat up slowly, the big blankets rolling off of her soundlessly as her eyes raked across her room. It was her old room back when she lived with her parents, except it was clean. There were no random books piled randomly on the desk, no blood and sweat-stained clothes on the floor, and no random sharp objects lodged into the dull green walls. She got out of bed, the carpet scrunching in between her toes as she walked out of the room.

Everything in the house was neat as if it were ready to be put on display. There were no stains, cobwebs, bits of dust; nothing that gave any hint that someone did anything in here but clean.

She passed a mirror that had not been there in her house before, but that was not what had caught her attention. The mirror did not reflect her, but of a boy. He had raven-black hair, onyx eyes, a flawless and long face that reminded her of Itachi. The familiarity to the older Uchiha did not surprise her considering it was his younger brother, Sasuke, who was looking back at her in the mirror.

Though instead of his usual blank and emotionless glare, the young man's face copied her every expression. When she smiled, he smiled; when she stuck her tongue out and flipped the middle finger, he did the same thing. For a while the girl just stood there, making weird faces and giggling as Sasuke copied every expression. After she had had her fill of fun, the girl turned to walk away, not noticing the boy's bleeding eyes for a second. Instead of a clean hallway, she was greeted with the white nothingness.

This time, it was not Christine who kept the girl company.

Keisuke stood what appeared to miles away from her, but she could tell he was in his most grotesque form. The red skin seemed to be stretched across his mutated body and his eyes shone with amusement that only he seemed to understand. Fear would have been the first emotion she would have felt had the certain fact not pop up in her mind:

Keisuke was dead.

He was dead and that was more than enough for the girl not to care that he was in her dreams. In fact, she was about to walk away when a loud gurgling noise enveloped the soundless white. Keisuke's form seemed to shake and heave uncontrollably as streams of thick black liquid seeped from the corners of his muzzle. It did not surprise her when he vomited what appeared to be a pond's worth of black liquid.

The thick blackness rolled towards her, random shapes of hands reaching out as waves as it grew closer. Fear gripped her firmly in place, her mouth open in a silent scream as the liquid began to rear up. She closed her eyes tightly, but she could still see the white of the room even behind her eyelids. With every ounce of strength she had, the girl forced herself to move, her foot making a strange suctioning noise when it finally lifted from the ground. The other foot moved more easily than the first, and she started to run agonizingly slow.

It were as if she were in a slow-motion sequence, and everything returned to their normal speed when a gooey black hand grabbed her ankle. With a choking gasp, she fell forward and plunged into a body of water.

Frightening memories of the beast at the bottom of the ocean filled her mind and made the adrenaline pump faster through her veins. Her legs and arms flailed about, pushing herself towards what she hoped was the surface. When her head was smacked with cool air, she allowed herself to take in deep breaths, reveling in the fact she had gotten to the surface safely. Steam rolled across the water's surface, and she noticed she was in a man-made hot spring. The water was warm, but still felt dangerous as she cautiously swam forward, unable to feel the bottom of the pool. The steam was thick; so thick that she couldn't see the ledge of decorative land until she were just inches away from it.

Sitting on the ledge, dressed in a dark cloak, was a man. His face was shrouded in shadows and mist, but even the girl knew who it was when the man held a hand out to her. His hand was blue and calloused from the years he had spent wielding a mighty sword.

The girl smiled gratefully up at him before placing her wet hand gingerly in his. The shadows and steam lifted enough for her to see a gentle smile on his blue face. That smile was so comforting and reassuring that the girl did not even notice how long it was taking for his large fingers to curl around her tiny hand.

Just as he was starting to tighten his grip to pull her out, something wrapped itself around her ankle before pulling her beneath the water's surface; pulling her out of his hand and away from his smile. The girl screamed, but it was muffled by the dense water, and only bubbles seemed to care enough to try to carry her cry to the man above.

Something wrapped itself around her waist and mouth, constricting all of the air out of her and preventing anymore from going into her. Dark figures in the shape of finned torpedoes began to swim in circles above them, their numbers growing as the thing pulled her further down. More fear coursed through her at the sight of the sharks, and another scream would have escaped, if it weren't for the restraint, when one of them passed over her, its ugly and stained teeth pointing out of its mouth and lifeless eyes drifting over her as if it just noticed her. The thing around her tightened its grip before finally speaking as if there was no water to handicap her hearing or its speech.

"EQUAL LIVES! YOUR LEASH WILL BE TIGHTENED TO KEEP YOU ALIVE!" The thing burst out into a fit of laughter and the sharks swam away as if the sound frightened them. Suddenly, the constriction around her waist, ankle and mouth disappeared. She looked around, still in the water, but alone. Without hesitation, she began to swim for the surface, her lungs suddenly beginning to burn from the lack of oxygen. No matter how hard her legs seemed to kick, the surface did not get any closer. How far had that thing pulled her down?

Suddenly, the girl looked to the right; she did not know what had compelled her to do it, but she did and she immediately regretted it. A great shark swam towards her with a surprising speed. Its mouth opened, revealing rows of pointed and jagged teeth. She could have sworn she felt its teeth sink into her hip and break the bone.

–--

When Tadashi led Kakuzu and Ishiko into the infirmary, they were greeted with a startling scene. Ren was pinning Dariru to the bed by her shoulders, not in a hostile attempt, but more of a way to calm her down. The girl beneath him was gasping painfully and clawing at the man's face as if he were harming her. Of course, Ishiko would have thought her half-brother was hurting her friend had he not hollered, "Wake up! You stupid girl, wake up or you'll rip open your stitches again!"

One look from Ishiko told Kakuzu he had to do something to help her friend. Without making any form of complaint, the large man set his lover gently to her feet. When she was balanced, he went over to the bed and pushed Ren aside, noticing the deep scratches in his face from where Dariru's nails had struck. The girl did not hold back the hostility when Kakuzu tried to shake her awake; in fact, her hand swiped at his face the moment he had grabbed her. He felt chunks of his skin being removed from her nails and soon a hot sting throbbed next to his eye. His grip around her shoulders tightened until his knuckles turned white. It was the only thing he could do to keep himself from punching her in this jaw.

"Wake up," Kakuzu mumbled, shaking the gasping girl violently, ignoring the protests coming from his lover.

Dariru's face scrunched into a frown before he heard her mumble, "Shark...get it off! Shark!" Had Kakuzu known about her fear of sharks, he would suddenly understand what was making her act this way. However, he still assumed she was dreaming, but not of an actual shark; but more of her blue lover saving her from something. The tan man cursed to himself, hoping she wouldn't start to have a wet dream. It would be too weird if she started moaning and writhing while he was still shaking her.

Kakuzu pulled away from the girl and turned to Ishiko and Tadashi. "I think I'm the wrong person to try to wake her up..."

Ishiko rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed noise from the back of her throat. "For God's sake Kakuzu, just wake her up!"

Suddenly, Dariru stopped. No noise came from her and nothing about her moved. Everyone was silent and watched her still body, expecting something strange to happen. The machines were back to normal, even as she lifted a hand to her face to pry at the bandages that covered her eyes. It was Ishiko who waddled as fast as she could to her friend to pull her hand away from the bandaging. "You have to leave those on Dariru," the pregnant girl said soothingly, "your eyes may not be ready yet."  
The short-haired girl tilted her head towards her friend, "Ishiko?" she rasped as if her throat were sore.

"What are you doing here? Is Kisame here too?" Fear was apparent in the girl's tone; having her eyesight suddenly taken from her must have been more traumatizing than anyone thought. The one thing she needed was a sense of security, and Ishiko was more than willing to give it to her, if even for a moment.

With a gentle smile, the pregnant spy patted the girl's hand comfortingly, "I came here to see how you were doing." She looked over her shoulder at the unconscious Kisame and bit her lower lip. The blue man did not look like he was going to wake up anytime soon.

"Where is he? Where's Kisame?" Dariru's anxiety seemed to grow at the silence and lack of contact from her lover.  
Ishiko opened her mouth to speak, but Ren beat her to it. "He's taking a nap. So calm down." The pregnant girl shot her half brother a glare before turning back to her friend.

The girl's face looked confused. "Who is that? I don't recognize his voice..."

"It's okay," Ishiko muttered, "his name is Ren and he's a friend. There's no need to be afraid." Dariru nodded before facing the ceiling. "Go back to sleep Dariru," the girl advised, "You need the rest."

"No." Dariru said quickly, the fear back in her voice. "I'll have another nightmare. Without him, it'll come back! It'll pull me down again!" The girl grabbed at the spy's arm frantically as if she may fall if she let go. "I can't sleep! What if it becomes real? What if it pulls me down, and I don't wake up? Oh God, I'm gonna go crazy if I have another nightmare!"

"Sounds to me she already is," Ren mumbled to Tadashi. The ex-ANBU responded by punching the half-Tsuwa in the arm.

"Okay, okay," Ishiko whispered, trying to calm the girl down. "You don't have to sleep if you don't want to."

While Ishiko was trying to calm Dariru, a small groan reached Tadashi's ears. He looked at Ren, but saw that the man was just bored and looked angry. Something creaked behind him, making the darker-haired man turn to see Kisame starting to get up. The blue man massaged his throat, wincing every time his fingers brushed the bruise that was starting to develop. Immediately, Tadashi tugged at Ren's sleeve. The half-Tsuwa gave him an annoyed look, but the man ignored it. "You might want to leave. Like, now!"

"What for?" Ren hissed, keeping his voice low. Before Tadashi could explain, feet sounded against the floor as the blue man staggered. The noise caught everyone's attention as Kisame held the side of his head, still dizzy from the forced comatose state he was put in. Tadashi kept trying to shove Ren towards the door, but the blonde was having none of it. He stood his ground firmly, even when the older man locked eyes with him and began to snarl in anger.

"YOU!" Kisame bellowed and had started to stomp towards Ren, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Dariru call out.

"Kisame?" She sounded so weak and yet hopeful at the same time. The shark-man seemed to forget all about Ren when he heard his lover say his name. As if it were programmed, the blue man walked to her bedside, not noticing Ishiko as she moved away to give him room. The short-haired girl reached out for him blindly, but he quickly took her hand in his. "Where did you go?"

The man licked his lips nervously before shooting a glare at Ren. "How did you know I was gone?"

Her breath hitched in her throat before answering. "I had a nightmare."

* * *

*lick* I'm bored.


	66. Chapter 66

Ra-ra Ra-ahaaa Roma-romamama Ga-Ga-Ohh-lala Watch out for romance! Love that song!

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Six

Kisame held his tongue, and didn't respond to Dariru's answer. Kakuzu could tell the made suddenly became uneasy, and though his body was very close to Dariru's, his face backed up a little, his eyes shifting anxiously. Ishiko decided to speak up to make up for the uneasy silence.

"Hope you get better soon, Dariru-chan, I'll be back later okay? Come on, Kakuzu, I'm hungry so you'll have to make me food." Ishiko started to mumble and ramble about different cravings she had and Dariru dropped her head to the side. Kakuzu gave a final glance and waved Tadashi and Ren to follow. Though, they didn't exactly need his warning to follow them, they weren't just going to stand there when the situation had become so awkward. A girl with a phobia of something usually avoids that thing at all costs, but Dariru. Her fear of sharks had ironically led her to her lover and she stuck by him despite the likeliness. Tadashi laughed to himself.

How contradicting, that Dariru.

---

"Eggs? I'll make you eggs! I'll make you anything my love!" Tadashi chirped, already wearing a pink apron she somehow found in a criminal base. Kakuzu punched the boy lightly on the head.

"Ouch!" Tadashi cried and appeared before Ishiko with teary eyes. She gasped at the sight, his bright purple eyes filled with tears and his little pink apron wrapped around his thin body. Perhaps it was her hormones, but he was adorable for being in his late twenties.

"Kakuzu don't _hurt_ him!" Tadashi sniffed in joy as she wrapped her arms as best as she could around him and settled her head on top of his, Tadashi smiled at Kakuzu with his tongue sticking out. _Little rat! _Kakuzu growled mentally. Tadashi was doing that on purpose. He was winning Ishiko over with cuteness Tadashi knew Kakuzu wouldn't do in a million years. Being cute was never in his persona. Ishiko looked over at him, still holding Tadashi like a child with one hand and cradling her belly with the other.

"Kakuzu I think Tadashi is hungry too." Ishiko added. Kakuzu only nodded. After all he needed her as calm as possible for what he was doing right now. And when the two people he called for arrived, he didn't want Ishiko to be angry with an empty stomach. If she was full then she might be calmer about meeting the two other people in his live he even slightly trusted. From the kitchen he looked back over at her cooing at Tadashi. Maybe she didn't want to admit it, but she was a very suited to be a mother. Kakuzu felt himself smile ever so slightly at the sight. Ishiko. The mother of his children and possibly his fiancé again. Years ago he probably would have ran out of her, but now, he couldn't live any other way.

"Ishiko, do you have any proper clothing?" Kakuzu asked, and Ishiko looked back with a perplexed look.

"No, I don't usually stay at this base." Ishiko furrowed her eyebrows. Kakuzu shrugged it off, but it only seemed to make Ishiko even more curious.

"Why?" She asked.

"No reason." Kakuzu responded quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. One thing he hated about lying to her; was that she had the uncanny to tell more than half the time. Most of the time it got on his nerves about how she analyzed every little thing when he didn't want her to.

"Who did you send for?" Ishiko groaned and both Ren and Tadashi looked up now, interested. Kakuzu sighed. He was caught, and she wasn't about to let it go now that she caught the hook.

"Ginji and Kyouya, my book keepers."

---

Keirei returned to the room, sighing and writing something on a clipboard Kisame really felt no interest for. He placed the clipboard down but he somehow, continued writing. He had so many papers, one pile he had a sticky note over labeled 'Kisame's files', another with Suigetsu's name on it, another –larger pile- with Ishiko's name, and a growing stack with Dariru's name on it.

"We're getting an old MRI machine soon, so we'll be able to scan Dariru for any internal or brain injuries. Better safe than sorry. We're going to make sure she's clear, and with Itachi-san's help I might be able to save her eyes." Keirei was going on. Though Kisame wasn't really listening, he was concentrating on Dariru's hands. They had some blood on them from clawing at Kakuzu and at her own eyes. The doctor finally looked up in interest.

"Did something happen?" He asked. He glanced back down and straightened out a small stack of papers before turning his attention fully to Kisame and Dariru.

"She woke up from a nightmare." Kisame answered mournfully. Keirei's eyebrows went up slightly and he walked forward.

"A night terror? Is that usual?" Keirei asked, lifting up the fabric of her shirt slightly to glance at the stitches. They were a little red, but they were still intact. Kisame didn't respond and Keirei looked at him again, waving his hand back in forth gingerly. But he was mostly afraid Kisame would bite him too, with the looks of his teeth and all.

"Not when I'm around. I left… for a few moments…" Kisame went on and then he was silent again, his eyes trailing over Dariru's bandages over her eyes. Keirei stared at him for a second more before looking down at Dariru as well. He couldn't imagine why a girl like Dariru would stick by a man like Kisame. But maybe this was a hint. Kisame made Dariru feel safe enough she wouldn't have nightmares. That was probably the best reason he had ever heard. Love based on a feeling more than based on looks was more reassurance to him than anything else.

"Then I'll give you some time with her. I'll be back, but you'll be sitting in the corner while I try working on her eyes." Keirei stated, a small smile creeping on his face. Kisame nodded softly, giving some sort of acknowledgement. Keirei nodded to himself and grabbed Ishiko's file and walked out, making sure the door shut as silently as possible. He tucked the file under his arm and ran a hand through his hair. To be honest, he wasn't sure how he would be able to deal with Dariru's eyes. From what he conversed with Itachi, it seemed the only way to fix Dariru, was to fix Sasuke. This was already getting too complicated. Walking into the kitchen, Ishiko was first to look up and she gave a kind smile.

"Kakuzu, Dr. Keirei is here." Tadashi and Ren, who were sitting across from each other looked up as well and gave opposite greetings. Ren, a small scowl and he looked away with disgust, and Tadashi gave a warming smile while also giving a small wave in his direction. Keirei couldn't help but wave back slightly. Keirei looked over at the stove and Kakuzu was cleaning his hands with a rag, they all must have ate for Kakuzu had dried dishes to the side of him.

"And why are you here? I have some important people coming soon," Kakuzu started and looked down at a small clock on the stove.

"Just here to ask Ishiko a few more question to take into account." Keirei piped. Ishiko tilted her head at him questioningly.

"How's Dariru? Is she feeling better?" She asked, raking back some hair. Keirei turned to her with a smile.

"She is, I checked her a while ago, her stitches are still in and she's resting." As a doctor he was used to playing the role where he knew everything. But he wasn't sure of anything. Who was to say Dariru was to have another freak nightmare and tear out her stitches? But Ishiko smiled at the reassurance and sighed, placing a hand over her heart.

"I was so worried. She even scratched Kakuzu." Ren laughed as Ishiko pointed over to Kakuzu and Keirei glanced over to notice a bandage peeking out from under his mask he always wore. But the older man looked over and glared at the laughing blond. Keirei tightened his lips into a thin line and straightened his shoulders.

"She should be fine at least, Kisame is with her. You shouldn't get too stressed Ishiko, that can't be good for the twins, by the way have you decided on a name yet?" He tried to change the subject, but like he heard from the other Akatsuki members and her file Pein had given to him, she was a spy. She wouldn't be manipulated well. Especially on the topic of Dariru.

"Hiraku and Tsubaki. They're fine, Tsubaki must be picking on Hiraku because Hiraku is kicking more than usual," Ishiko glanced down at her stomach and gave a reassuring rub. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"If Kisame in with her then her nightmares should be gone. Take note of that Dr. Keirei." Ishiko added, bringing an almond hand forward in emphasis. Keirei nodded and made sure to make a mental note of that. Perhaps, subconsciously at least it would be comforting to have her lover there. Kakuzu stopped what he was doing and made his way into the dining room, hovering over Ishiko behind her, bringing over his left hand gingerly and rubbed her shoulder. Keirei tried not to make a look of confusion.

"Tsubaki is picking on Hiraku?" He asked quietly, Ishiko looked up, smiling.

"Hiraku is kicking a lot," Ishiko spoke up. Kakuzu glanced down, a stern look on his face and his hand went down over the curve of her stomach as well.

"Listen up Tsubaki, you better be nice to your brother. And you both better be good inside your Mommy." He said loudly and sternly. All activity stopped. And Ishiko looked awkwardly with a smile and glanced back and forth from Kakuzu and then to Keirei. Ren coughed awkwardly and loudly and got up from his seat.

"Well if people are going to talk to Ishiko's stomach I don't want to be around." Ren said quickly and left the room. Tadashi coughed as well and bolted out of the room too. But Kakuzu seemed to be having a stare down with Ishiko's stomach. Keirei coughed and Ishiko's face brightened.

"Hey he stopped!" Ishiko felt around her stomach and Keirei walked a little closer.

"Are you feeling any pain? Soreness? Cramps?" Keirei asked eagerly. Ishiko waved him off.

"Just my back a little. And yeah I feel a little tired from all those meds you keep making me take." Keirei sighed and wrote the new information into his clipboard. Finally, he knew he had to ask a couple more sensitive questions and then he looked up at Kakuzu.

"May we speak alone?" Keirei asked delicately. Kakuzu's eyes shot up right away and the exotic orbs of green shone at him like spotlights. Ishiko didn't seem to notice.

"Whatever you have to say you can tell both of us." He said, his deep voice rolling off his tongue like a strike of thunder. Ishiko's face changed a little too, her petite almond face darkened a little, but they seemed way more understanding than Kakuzu's and she set a arm on his hand that rested on her stomach. She seemed more curious about what was going on than Kakuzu was. Keirei sighed yet again.

"Ishiko-san is this… your first pregnancy?" Keirei asked in the most delicate and sensitive voice he could muster. Both of their faces dropped into horrific frowns and Ishiko's face started to tear up and her breathe was becoming more ragged and uneven. Kakuzu seemed to be trying to calm her down by shushing her and rubbing her small shoulders.

"You don't have to answer… calm down… it's okay…" He said softly and looked up with a ferocious glare up at the surprised doctor. The Tsuwa girl dropped her face into her hands and her breathes quickened into small gasps and hiccups.

"**Go away, Dr. Keirei.**" Kakuzu warned. The doctor gasped as well and turned on his heels to leave. He took it, it wasn't Ishiko's first pregnancy, but he couldn't help but wonder what happened to the first child, or if it was even born at all to get that sort of reaction from a spy. He decided to go back and work on what he could with Dariru. The least he could do was fix at least one person in this organization. He owed it to himself as a doctor.

---

Kisame looked up as Dr. Keirei walked in, and he placed the folder labeled Ishiko neatly back on the stack. But he quickly returned his attention to Dariru. Her chest rose and fell more evenly, and she seemed calm.

"How is she?" Keirei asked, clasping his fingers together. Kisame looked up momentarily, but he did not dare rip his eyes from Dariru's sleeping form.

"She's sleeping good." Kisame answered. Keirei smiled for probably the first time in a while.

"That's good, I'm going to change out her bandages with clean ones." Keirei said in a small forewarning. He went over to the cabinet and opened the glass doors and grabbed the gauze and cotton as well as some cleaning supplies. He glanced back and decided he may as well ask.

"Does… Dariru always have these night terrors?"

* * *

Old cartoons suck in animation and plotline.


	67. Chapter 67

Just to let y'all know. I released a picture that has Tadashi in it in case you guys wanted to know what he looked like. Well, it's a little over dramaticized but that's my image of him of my deviantart. Go to my home page and click the link there if there is one, and if there isn't message me. Well school got tougher and my Biology class is my main focus. I did really badly on a biology project and I promised myself I'd do way better so that's what I have to do and get a 90 if I want to go to Pharmacy school. :P

* * *

Chapter 67

Kisame was silent for a while as the doctor gathered new bandages, leaving the question to hang in the air. Of course the blue man had not even realized that a question had been asked until the doctor pressed onward.

"Well?" Keirei said as he lifted the blood-stained bandages over Dariru's eyes just enough to slide the open end of some scissors underneath. The clean cutting of layers of cloth made Kisame blink.

"Well what?" he mumbled. He felt emotionally and mentally drained to the point where he felt like passing out. Everything was going wrong, so horribly wrong; and most of it could have been avoided one way or another. He could understand if these bad things were directed solely at him. After all, he had done some horrible things that would promise him a permanent space in Hell, or whatever the place was called for souls who have done evil in their lives, no matter how many good deeds he could perform. He just could not fathom why Dariru had to suffer through it all too. She had done nothing wrong, even in the Akatsuki bases; the girl was practically innocence incarnate compared to the group of criminal men she had decided to mingle with. What had she done to deserve this torture?

Keirei peeled the bloody bandaging away gingerly, especially when it decided to catch in some areas. "Has she always had night terrors?" Blood, both fresh and dry, appeared to have been smeared all across her eyes by a child who was given face paint. The coppery smell that was as familiar to him, from years of battle and dishonorable assassinations, now seemed disgusting and made his stomach flip. She had lost so much blood over the course of twenty-four hours...

"Um..." Kisame's eyes darted to her hands, unable to watch as the doctor began to wrap a fresh coat of bandage around her eyes. "Yeah...but they've stopped ever since she started sleeping with me." He ignored the pause in the doctor's movements and the tense look he was being given. So what if Keirei's mind was in the gutter? Kisame did not care what the normal man thought of him; he didn't care about anyone's opinion but hers.

The doctor cleared his throat as he began to work on covering up her stitches. "Um...a-any idea how severe they were?"

"Konan-san told me she had vomited once," Kisame informed, "but it was just that one and this one that were the worst. Other times, she just woke up sweaty. At least, that's what Dariru told me."

Keirei's brow furrowed in thought. Children having night terrors were easy to fix; an adolescent, however, may be a different story. The most common cause of night terrors was a lack of sleep, but since Dariru has a normal sleep pattern, it must be something else. Perhaps she was afraid of something or someone? At first he thought of Ishiko's brother, but if she had been having these night terrors before this whole incident even began, then that man was not the problem. He'd have to ask Dariru herself about the details of her dreams, both the good ones and the bad ones. For now, he'd have to settle with whatever information Kisame had to offer.

"Has she ever told you what her dreams had been about?" Keirei questioned, tugging the girl's stained tank-top back down.

A small smirk crossed the blue man's face, "Yes...in fact, we reenacted a few of them." Kisame could not help but shoot a sarcastic grin at the frozen doctor. "You want the details to those dreams, Doctor?"

It amazed Keirei how immature the criminal was acting; especially in such a situation as this! How Dariru was able to put up with such behavior as this baffled the man. One thing was for sure however. Keirei was getting tired of it. "I am being serious, Kisame-san," the man jotted down on a piece of paper from the folder that had Dariru's name on it. "Now is not the time to mess around. If I don't have as much information on her as possible, she may very well lose her eyes!"

The stool crashed to the floor as Kisame stood up to tower over the now quivering doctor. White eyes stared down at the frightened, yet handsome, face dangerously; and yet, amidst the anger, there was pain that could not be explained. Keirei tried to gulp down the lump that was forming in his throat, but his efforts were useless. Now he remembered why he normally kept his mouth shut.

"I tried not to act too angry at you, Doctor," Kisame said in a quiet voice, which was just as frightening as if he were bellowing the sentences out. "I saw the way you looked at my Dariru whenever she was around. You still have the same look on your face now even. Normally..." Blue fingers curled around a scalpel's handle before bringing the medical blade between their faces. Keirei could see his own frightened face reflected grotesquely against the blade's metal. "...I would have cut a few of your arteries open. Just to teach you a lesson and to stay away from my woman. But I didn't. Because she," he pointed the scalpel at the slumbering girl, "did not want to see anyone else get hurt. So I left you alone. But now...after all that has happened to her...I don't think I'll be able to stop myself from cutting you." Without warning, the blade scratched across Keirei's hand. The wound wasn't deep at all, but it was the suddenness of the attack that made the doctor gasp loudly and retreat from the blue man.

It didn't take a genius to notice that Kisame was going mad.

Kisame held the scalpel up again and snarled quietly, "That girl means more to me than you could ever imagine. I would be willing to give myself up if it meant giving her another day to live. If you ever think I'm not serious about, come see me. I'll make sure you'll get a deeper cut than that." With those words, Kisame tossed the scalpel into the skin before returning to his lover's bedside. He picked the stool back up and sat on it, taking the girl's hand in his gently. It was so shocking how that man could be a raging lunatic one moment, and the very next, be as gentle as the flap of a butterfly's wings. Then again, the only person he seemed to be gentle around was Dariru. The girl had no idea how lucky she was to not be able to see his full wrath.

--

Keirei decided it was best to finish off his business and then go off and leave them alone. He cleaned off Dariru's excess blood and covered her eyes with new bandages. Avoiding Kisame's gaze, and avoiding as best as he could not to let his eyes linger on Dariru's pale shoulders. Once the new bandages were on Keirei made sure everything was in order, and he decided to put her on an I.V. Kisame seemed a little suspicious at first, so Keirei decided to explain his antics.

"After losing all that blood, Dariru…-san might get a little dehydrated, and I'm including a sedative in her medicine to keep her asleep." Keirei said as he placed the needle in her arm after finding a good vein. Placing the stand up and checking it to make sure it wouldn't leak he placed in the new information on her file.

"Alright, I'll come back and check on her status…" He made sure to take some antiseptic and bandages for himself. A little cut as it was, it was certainly stinging, and he wouldn't want his death to be caused by something as little as gangrene or something. He stuffed it into his jacket pocket and checked his watch.

"In about an hour," He tried and put on a smile, but it only came out as a forced-half smile, so he dropped it right away. He opened the glass door out, and he proceeded out, grabbing Ishiko's file on the way and clicking on his pen. He wasn't sure whether or not if she was willing to talk this time, but he sure knew he needed to have another discussion with Pein.

---

_Mist surrounded Tadashi, but as he breathed in and out he realized more and more it was smoke, rather than mist. There must have been a fire. The only wink of sleep he gets in days and all he sees is fires. He waved a hand in front of him and coughed lightly. _

"_Tsubaki, you're too irrational!" A light voice said. Another one chuckled. _

"_Hiraku, you sound like Mom." Tsubaki said. Tadashi gasped as he recognized the names. _

"_Shut up! We're only here to gather some things you didn't need to burn the village." Hiraku said softly. The smoke cleared up a little more and Tadashi could see too, obviously tall figures. One with his hands on his waist and the other was cross-armed. They were so tall, it was easy to tell it was definitely Kakuzu's sons. _

"_Well if we kill a few people might as well kill them all," Tsubaki's hand reached up and scratched his head. "Besides, I wanted to try out some bombs Uncle Deidara taught me to make." Tsubaki shrugged. Hiraku dunked his head and sighed loudly. _

"_Dad sent us out here so we could get some supplies for Mom." Hiraku reasoned and Tadashi suddenly went quiet. _

"_I know we're doing this for Mom." Tadashi's voice went stern and Hiraku turned his head to look at his brother. Tadashi coughed again and his eyes started to sting from the smoke. Hiraku brought up a hand and set it on Tsubaki's shoulder and the smoke really started to set it. Tadashi struggled to wave the smoke and ash out of his face, he wasn't sure whether he should say anything about this dream. He was prohibited saying anything about Tsubaki or Hiraku to Ishiko. But this was alarming. This meant that in some way, the recent events changed the future. _

_Ishiko will not die in labor, and Dariru will not have to give up anything in return. _

---

Tears had stopped flowing from her brown eyes, which were now swollen and blood-shot, and the dampness had dried from his shirt. Now Kakuzu was just sitting on a chair in the kitchen, with Ishiko sitting on his lap, her tear-stained face buried into the fabric of his shirt. Even though her crying and hiccups had stopped long ago, the tan man did not cease in petting her soft hair comfortingly and kept his other hand wrapped protectively around her waist, as if the physical contact would protect both of them from any emotional attacks. In fact, it was more of a comfort for Kakuzu than it was for Ishiko; to be reminded of their late first child was like rubbing in salt and lemon juice into a festering wound. But to know that his lover was still here, on his lap and in his arms, was enough to pull him away from the excruciating pain in his hearts. He also knew the pain was much worse for Ishiko, since it was her who had been carrying the unborn child and was now with twins at the moment. No doubt she was starting to, or already had, thought of scenarios where she would lose her developing sons as tragically as she had lost the first.

He made a mental note to punish the doctor later.

Ishiko tugged on his shirt, silently calling for his attention. When he looked down at her, she spoke. "Kakuzu...you don't think...what if I lose them?" She looked up at him, fresh tears starting to swell in her blood-shot eyes, "What if I lose them, Kakuzu? Tsubaki...Hiraku..." He forced her head gently into his chest while making calming "shushing" noises in an attempt to calm her down. Her shoulders started to shake and soon he heard her muffled sobs. "Oh God, I can't lose them! I can't! I just--!"

"Calm down Ishiko," Kakuzu cooed in a whisper, stroking her hair more rapidly now. "Calm down. I'm not going to let anything happen to you or our sons. It'll be alright...shhh...it's going to be okay...you'll see." She kept sobbing into him, dampening his shirt with warm tears, but he did not mind. The sound of her sobs became nothing more than background noise as the criminal's thoughts swam with future possibilities.

He would make sure his lover would live through labor. Even if it meant sacrificing Dariru for Ishiko's survival. Of course, if it ever came down to that, it'd be difficult to keep Kisame from killing him or Ishiko; then again, the doctor has a lot of sedatives and Kakuzu was positive they would be able to bring Kisame down. Ishiko may even hate him if he sacrificed her friend for her sake...but it was something he was willing to risk if it meant keeping her alive.

Again her sobs stopped and she pushed away from his chest to wipe the tears away with her arm. Kakuzu brushed them away with his thumb and stared at her red cheeks. This must have been the most she has ever cried. It hurt him to see her like this because he knew she shouldn't have to be reduced to such sadness. It was his job to keep her happy, and to see her cry was an indication that he was doing a poor job.

"When do you think Itachi-san will return?" Ishiko mumbled, taking in deep shaky breaths. Itachi had left just hours ago to fetch his younger brat of a brother, Sasuke. After telling the doctor that the only way to fix Dariru was to fix Sasuke, the older Uchiha had left to bring the subject in question to the doctor. They all hoped it would be a way to calm Kisame down.

Kakuzu shrugged, "Soon." It was a lie. If it was Itachi going for Sasuke, it would take at least two weeks. They would both be at each other's throats during their travel multiple times. Hopefully, someone mature will accompany the two Uchiha brothers and keep them both alive.

–

Deidara was still having a hard time believing a word Itachi had just told him. The only thing the blonde fully comprehended was that Dariru was hurt real bad and that Ishiko may need more help, and that, for some reason, Sasuke had to come too. It had taken a while to keep the younger brother from tearing open Itachi; in fact, the boy would have succeeded too if Suigetsu had not intervened and had calmed down his superior. Then again, the only reason as to why Sasuke had backed down was because of his now near-blind eyes. But even that had taken a long time, though Deidara didn't care anymore. The four of them were on the road now, heading towards the Northern Base on two of his clay birds.

It took up a lot of his energy to keep both birds intact, but it was not enough to exhaust him immediately. On one bird was Deidara and Sasuke, with the blond in the front; on the other were Itachi and Suigetsu, with Itachi in front. At first Deidara tried to leave Suigetsu behind after hearing what Kakuzu had said about the boy. Though, Itachi had convinced the blonde that it would be a benefit if the Swordsmen trainee tagged along; if he was able to calm Sasuke down once, he could do it again, and right now, peace was something they needed. From what Itachi had told him, if either Dariru or Sasuke got hurt, the other would feel the same pain.

The rules also applied to death. Though the blonde could not understand how such a thing happened, he understood the consequence.

The only noises made wee the flapping of the birds' wings and the wind rushing past them, making Deidara's long hair blow violently in Sasuke's face. The younger Uchiha would swipe at the blonde ponytail on occasion, but he made no verbal protest. No wonder he hates Itachi...Deidara thought, the two of them are exactly alike!

On foot, it would have taken them two to three weeks, depending on how many times Sasuke and Itachi fought. But on the wings of artificial birds, it would take them three days. The best part about clay birds was that the creatures never got tired and could be pushed to any limit the blonde creator wanted, so long as his chakra level was able to meet the expectation.

Itachi turned his head so that his voice could be heard over the wind. "You might want to stay out of Kisame's sight when we get there, Suigetsu." Even the older Uchiha was not blind enough to see that there was a jealous tension between the two Swordsmen.  
Suigetsu's grip tightened on the clay bird, but the creature made no noise of protest. "So, you expect me to just stay huddled up in a room the whole time I'm there? Sounds wonderful," he added sarcastically with a roll of his purple eyes.

"That may not be the solution," Itachi continued, his silky hair blowing around his pale face. "Kisame has been in the infirmary with Dariru since we got to the base. I'm sure that as long as you stay away from that particular room, you'll be fine."

The younger male nibbled at his bottom lip in thought. He wondered if the short-haired girl was alright. The thought of her bleeding out profusely made him shudder uncomfortably that it forced him to think of past memories of her, when she was healthy and nothing but smiles and kindness. It made him smile as he remembered her slapping Kisame across the face for making some rude comment. And yet, she still went back to the blue man. No matter how many times Suigetsu had tried to interfere with their relationship, she always went to the ugly older man no matter what he had done, she always returned to him.

What was it that Kisame had that Suigetsu did not?

That question had been haunting him since Dariru and her pregnant friend had disappeared. Then, shortly after that, Kisame and Kakuzu had left too. Suigetsu did not know why the four of them had suddenly left, but he could only guess it was not good after hearing the reason why Kakuzu had returned to retrieve the doctor. Dariru had been hurt...the tan man had said she had been bleeding a lot...it made the boy wonder if Kisame cried over her condition...

"HEY!" Deidara hollered at them, urging his bird to fly closer to theirs at a safe distance. "WE'RE ALMOST THERE! YOU TWO DOIN' OKAY?!" Sasuke started to shift, and immediately, Deidara grabbed the Uchiha by his hair and pulled him back. "You're not going anywhere!" the blonde hissed.

"I wasn't planning on it!" The younger Uchiha complained. "By the way...you're hurting what's-her-name too." With a grumble, Deidara released the boy before making the bird fly further away from Itachi's.

"WE'RE DOING FINE!" Suigetsu hollered for the both of them at Deidara.

"GOOD!" Deidara said. Hopefully nothing bad has happened...again...

* * *

Reviews are much appreciated. (Not that we get any...)


	68. Chapter 68

Ah. I think I've givin' up on boy-chasing. It really serves me no purpose, plus TAKS is coming up.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Ishiko eventually gathered herself enough to stand up on her own.

"I want to see Dariru again." She sniffed. Kakuzu grabbed her hands.

"Again?" He questioned. Really, he didn't want the two near each other. The sight of Dariru would only make Ishiko even more stressed than she already was. He didn't know why, and he didn't know how, but somehow, the two girls have grown such a bond that possibly nobody could break. Ishiko viewed Dariru as perhaps like a little sister she never had. Ishiko nodded. Kakuzu sighed in return.

"She's resting right now," Dr. Keirei said, flipping a page in his file folder and Kakuzu glared.

"What are you back here for?" Kakuzu growled dangerously. Ishiko placed a hand over his cheek and he felt just a little resistant to her touch. He knew she was trying to calm him down, but making her cry was too much a crime to let go just because she objected to it. Keirei looked up with an innocent face.

"Dariru is resting, she seems to have stabilized, but her wound is a bit questionable." Keirei revealed. Ishiko suddenly gained interest and she set a hand over her stomach, leaning towards the doctor. Kakuzu had to strain a little to keep his grip on her waist.

"How is she? How long might she take to heal?" Ishiko questioned. Keirei cleared his throat into his fist.

"Like I said she's stabilized. I have her on sedatives so she'll be resting a lot. As for her eyes… I have no idea. It seems as long as this… Sasuke's… eyes are bad… hers will too. I can keep them clean as so she won't have to lose them, but as far as that goes, I can't determine how long it'd take. Aside from her eyes it may take a few weeks perhaps only two for her stomach wound to heal up." Keirei explained. Ishiko didn't know whether to be relieved or even guiltier. Kakuzu pulled her closer but her heart just seemed to race.

"I… see…" She struggled to say. This wasn't just some girl this was happening to. This was Dariru. Keirei seemed a bit alarmed.

"Don't think too much of it Ishiko, especially in your condition-!" Keirei tried but Ishiko waved him off.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Whew…" She sighed, rubbing her stomach. Kakuzu rubbed her back soothingly.

"Oh right! We need to get you a check up!" Keirei brought up and rushed towards her. He sat down across from Kakuzu and flipped open the large folder. Ishiko grumbled and stared at the kitchen door longingly; she really wanted to see that Dariru was calm now. To have walked in on her flailing about like that had made the pregnant girl uneasy. Just a moment...she only wanted to see her friend for just a moment; just long enough to be reassured that she was okay and not having another nightmare.

"Ishiko-san?" Keirei called out, waiting patiently for her to sit down next to the silent Kakuzu. "Would you have a seat please? The sooner we get this done, then the sooner we will be able to see Dariru." The offer was a bribe, but it was a good bribe.

"But I want to see her now!" The girl whined like a child even as she walked slowly towards a vacant seat. "I won't take long, I promise!" But the doctor wouldn't give in. Instead, he just got out a pen and held it close to the paper, ready to jot down notes about her current condition.

She glared at the doctor and was about to complain about how stupid this whole check-up thing was, but stopped when Kakuzu's hand grabbed hers. "You can wait a few more minutes Ishiko," the tan man mumbled as he gently guided her to a seat next to him. Honestly, he was glad the doctor had not given into her pleads and prayed that something would prevent his lover from seeing the injured girl.

With a huff, she slouched as best as she could in the chair with her arms crossed awkwardly over her larger chest. "Well then...ask away."

–

Itachi was the one who lead the group into the base, with Sasuke bringing up the rear while Suigetsu and Deidara acted as a barricade between the two Uchiha brothers. So far there had not been any fights between the two siblings, which just made Deidara more suspicious of the younger one. If Sasuke truly did have a blood-feud to settle with his brother, then he would have attacked at least once during their travel? But the raven-haired boy had made no such move, and it only made the blonde assume he was plotting something. And if he was, there was very little they could do to stop him without harming Dariru and, therefore, provoke Kisame's wrath. Though Deidara had never seen Kisame fully angry, he didn't hope he'd see it anytime soon. From what he has heard, the blue man had the ability to fuse with Samehada and become more of a monster than he already was. The thought made the blonde shiver.

With a gesture of his hand, the older Uchiha silently ordered the group to stop. As if trying to be rebellious, Sasuke kept fidgeting uncharacteristically, kicking idly at the floor or scratching at the walls. The raven-haired boy's subordinate scoffed and rolled his amethyst eyes at his superior's actions. Itachi ignored his little brother and spoke directly to Deidara, "I'm going to find the doctor and tell him that you're here. He'll take you and Sasuke to the infirmary." Red eyes shifted to Suigetsu before he continued, "I'll come back for you and show you all of the places you can go to without possibly bumping into Kisame. Until then, stay here." With those final words, the older Uchiha left the three men behind and disappeared into a hallway.

After he had disappeared, Sasuke pushed his way past Suigetsu but stopped when Deidara got in his way. "Where do you think you're going, hm?" The blonde asked, glaring down at cloudy onyx eyes. The boy looked so much like his older brother. Had Itachi looked like this when he was younger?

"I'm going to look around the place," Sasuke stated before trying to go around the Akatsuki bomber. He was stopped by a hand shoving him back. A look of surprise crossed his face temporarily before saying with a wicked grin, "You can't do anything to me. You'll hurt her if you do."

A frustrated grumble rumbled in Deidara's throat. The little brat had a point, but he was not going to let him wander around the base without an escort. "Fine, un. But I'm going with you, hm." The younger Uchiha rolled his eyes as Deidara pointed at the snickering Suigetsu, "But you have to stay here!"

"Says who?" The white-haired boy asked, crossing his arm defiantly.

"Me!" The blonde pointed at himself before turning to leave the boy behind. Sasuke followed him and tried to take the lead, but Deidara pulled the boy back by his shirt, making sure he was always next to him.

---

Itachi's footsteps echoed on the nice walls of the Northern base. And he would have peacefully made his way to the Infirmary if not for a certain Iwa Guard ninja stepping out from the shadows and blocking his way.

"Have you not learned anything? Such thinking will get you nowhere." Ren stated darkly, his arms crossed and his blond hair blocking one of his eyes. Itachi only stared at him passively.

"I have my little brother with me, if he gets healed then so will Dariru-"

Ren's sudden laughing made Itachi stop. But he didn't get why. It was over. This little game that Keisuke tried to pull in his last efforts to get back at him was finished. Keisuke lost this game, and if Ren was anything like Keisuke, he should have been angry, not giggling like a madman.

"You really don't get it do you?" Ren stifled another laugh. Itachi glowered now. The candle lights around the flickered just a bit, and it made it seem there was a real fire inside his flaming eyes.

"Whether you heal them doesn't matter, because slowly the Tsuwa blood will deteriorate their internal organs; see there are two effects of the Tsuwa blood. Inside a different host if it is digested, it can heal. But if it courses through their veins it slowly slices away at their hearts until it gives out. You're not getting the lesson Keisuke-sama is trying to teach you-"

Before he could finish his light-hearted lecture, his collar was brought upwards and his head banged on the wall yet again by Itachi. Itachi brought his face close and he growled slightly.

"I swear to God if Sasuke even so much as gets a flu from all this-"

"But you can prevent it. You're simply too cowardly to even save Sasuke." Ren interrupted again with a slight smile. Itachi's grip loosened a little. Was he really? He loved his little brother, above all other matters. He had done all he could to keep him safe. Yet no matter what his actions were, he could, for some reason, never succeed. Was it really because he never went above and beyond? Because he never took any risks but only stood by the limits and looked back only to see more fire? Itachi's grip tightened and he pushed Rene even harder into the wall.

"Tell me then. How can I save Sasuke?!" Itachi asked desperately. Itachi was never really one to beg, his prestigious upbringing prevented himself from ever having to go to that level. But this was Sasuke. His loving little brother. His only light in the darkness in his entire life. Ren waved a finger back and forth.

"You're not watching out for one anymore. You have to see in another's eyes. Your light may be another's fire. Your coal may be another's diamond. You have to look at your own morals, and follow them. There is one person who Keisuke was really after, and he hated people who liked to hold leashes." Ren said and brought his forearm crashing into Itachi's face. Itachi's grip loosened ever so slightly, but it was enough for Ren to break free enough to bring his knee into his diaphragm. Who knew the boy could still be so agile and flexible with such a heavy uniform on?

"Oh no you don't-!" Itachi grunted out and managed to kick the inside of Ren's knee-cap. Ren fell but turned onto his back almost immediately with a kunai. Itachi had his own and threw it at Ren's easily accessible hard pallet (under the chin) but the blond used his kunai and deflected the kunai into a picture of a meadow scene. Kakuzu was sure to have a fit about that. He didn't even like pictures to begin with, but to pay for one and then have it destroyed… Maybe Itachi shouldn't even waste his time in trying to get Ren when Kakuzu would do it for him.

Itachi still took the opportunity to whip out another kunai and charged, Ren on the other hand, rolled onto his stomach and kicked up his leg, using his heel to kick the kunai right out of Itachi's hand. Ren used the momentum and flipped right over, and since Itachi couldn't stop fast enough Ren already had him right where he wanted him. With a blade at his neck and so close Itachi couldn't simply use a smoke bomb to get out of it.

"You were never one for violence were you? Is that why you prefer genjutsu?" Itachi didn't exactly notice before, but never once had Ren looked directly into his eyes. He focused on his eyebrows or nose the whole time they talked. Nor did he ever look at his ring, but he still refused to answer Ren's question. The blond only chuckled and turned around.

"Tadashi is sleeping right now; you must understand he and I do not serve any alliance with the Akatsuki. We refuse to work under… the person who has way too much Iwa blood on their hands." Ren said softly, stopping for a second before walking a little further. Itachi furrowed his brows a little.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about Madara would you?" Itachi inquired. Ren's steps stopped right away and he chuckled a little before continuing. His hands stuffed into the pockets of the flak jacket he wore as part of the Guard uniform.

"Looks who's finally catching on," He turned back with a toothy grin.

"I knew Keisuke had confidence in you for a reason."

---

"Hm?" Tadashi groaned, waking from his short slumber. Not that it was a descent slumber, but it was the only wink of sleep he's gotten in a while. He rubbed his arm and ran a hand through his midnight hair. That was an uncomfortable prophecy this time, and it meant new information he had to take up with Ren. For some reason, Ren was even more uncomfortable to report to than the second Tsuchikage when he was alive. He just seemed… angrier, and less controlled. But he supposed that was further evidence on that he didn't exactly carry a Tsuwa trait. Even though he didn't like him, he couldn't say Keisuke was never a gentleman. And Ishiko was always very well composed. So was their father and even Tomoe when he wasn't simply throwing lamps around.

"I'm so tired… I think I want to see Ishiko and Dariru again." Tadashi quickly placed on a vest and kept his dirty pants on. It wasn't like Dariru wouldn't want to see him over dirty pants. He stepped out of the spare room; it didn't even have a bed. Ren made some sort of makeshift sleeping area made out of rugs and cushions he stole from some of the other rooms. He stepped out of the room and glanced down the hall, and a smile appeared on his face.

A certain head full of blond hair that brought back memories was right down the hall.

"Deidara-san!" He cried and stepped out. Deidara glanced back, and he backed up a little to see who the new voice belonged to. Purple eyes ran over blue ones and Sasuke groaned.

"Tadashi-san? Un." Deidara mumbled. Tadashi smiled brightly and he rushed towards him.

"Who is this?" Sasuke grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms like the little brat he was. Deidara didn't bother to answer him.

"Deidara-san! I haven't seen you in forever! Ever since you left the village things have been very hectic!" Tadashi complained. Deidara didn't exactly know what he was talking about though. They didn't meet up much even before he left the village. They only went to the Academy together for a few years and he dropped out, then later on he started working for his Aunt in the bakery and they had a one-night stand –not that he would tell anybody that- and they have only known of each other's existence since. Though Deidara was aware of his political position.

"Yeah, I heard about what happened to Dariru, yeah." Deidara decided to change the subject. Tadashi's eyes shifted.

"I'm afraid it's much more complicated than just that, Deidara-san." Tadashi scratched the back of his head and Sasuke's eyes rolled over him, noticing the marks on his arms. But he chose not to say anything about it.

---

Dariru groaned a little in her sleep, and it made Kisame shift as well. Sasuke must have been in pain or something for her to be so restless and it only made him hope more that he wasn't seriously injured. But the needle in her arm made him a but edgy as well. As a criminal, he had grown used to seeing the gruesome truths of reality. People get sick, people get hurt and die. He had killed a man once who lay on his death bed, and he took his life by making a bubble on his I.V. But such a though associated with Dariru made his skin crawl and his veins felt hollow.

His eyes lids felt heavy. But he refused to close them. Not when Dariru may wake at any moment perhaps from a bad dream, even though he was still there he didn't want to risk anything. Moments passed. Hours it felt like. Just sitting there in the white room surrounded by glass he felt almost, if not a little, self-conscious. He must have looked like he had been through a train-wreck. And he certainly didn't want Dariru to wake to something like that. Grabbing her hand and intertwining them into his, he put an elbow onto her hospital bed and rested his cheek in the hand, staring at her breathe in and out steadily.

Maybe just a nap would do no harm.

* * *

I'm thinking of making a somewhat continuing series after this. Maybe a time skip and continuing on with the twins if ya guys want.


	69. Chapter 69

Blood Thirsty Me has been out for a while due to technical problems and I with annoying homework.

* * *

Chapter 69

It took a while for Suigetsu to find the infirmary, but he had eventually succeeded after walking through the maze-like halls. At first he was not sure how he would know which door led to the little medical room; but after noticing a door with a clear glass window and the dried bloodstain in the shape of a hand, he knew he had found the right door. He knew he was not supposed to be anywhere near this room, in fact he probably should not even be in the same hall way, but he had to see how Dariru was himself. Surely everyone was just making a big fuss about it because Ishiko was making a big deal out of it, right? Maybe all that was wrong with her was a tiny scratch and she would be up and about by the evening. That was all that it was, right?

Right?

Without thinking, Suigetsu peered through the glass and ducked down the moment he saw the mass of blue sitting by a bed. He scolded himself as injuries that had healed from the blue man's assault started to throb dully in memory. Of course Kisame was going to be in the room! That pedophile seemed to be close-by even when she was healthy! It made sense that he'd be glued to her in her condition, whatever it may be. As Suigetsu slowly stood straight, he wondered if he had been seen by the shark-man? Then again, if he had been seen, the door would not still be in place and neither would most of the bones in his body. As the boy peered through the glass again, he noticed that Kisame was hunched over with his head resting on one of Dariru's palms. The larger man's left arm was in a sling, making Suigetsu smile to himself in victory. If they happened to get into a fight, the boy would have the upper hand. Not only that, but the man's ribcage rose and fell slowly in the pattern of slumber. The smile on the boy's face grew, even though the sight reminded him of a rabid dog asleep in an alley with its favorite bone nestled protectively between its massive paws.

Very carefully, Suigetsu opened the door, cringing as he heard the knob twist open and the hinges squeak quietly as the door opened. Though neither Kisame or Dariru twitched, he did not dare close the door in case that would be the straw that broke the camel's back. As he looked around the room, he noticed Samehada was resting against a wall on the opposite side of the room; another advantage he would have against the blue man should he attack. Especially since Suigetsu had his sword sheathed across his back. With a quietness that would make a cat appear noisy, the boy walked over to the bed and tried to stay as far away from Kisame's sleeping form as he could. There were bandages over Dariru's eyes and it made him suspicious. Sasuke's eyes had started bleeding just days before Itachi had arrived to fetch his younger brother. Now he was looking down at this girl who, apparently, also had an issue with her eyes. Then again, that was not the injury that Kakuzu had mentioned when he had come to fetch the doctor. The girl had a stomach injury, and though he was tempted to lift her shirt and find it, he would have to reach over Kisame to do it.

The swordsmen trainee bit his lip in thought, wondering if it would be worth it to chance waking the shark-man. He looked back down at the slumbering girl before making up his mind. Very quickly, he reached over the blue man's head and tugged the bottom of her tank-top up, hoping it would not wake her either. The moment he saw the bandaging wrapped protectively over the stitches he felt everything inside of him stop and twist in such a pain he had never felt before. It was true what they were saying about her; she really was hurt. Not just a scratch, not just a little scrape on the knee...a real injury. No, not just one; two! She had been hurt in two places!

Out of courtesy, he pulled her shirt back down before leaning down closer to her face. The once smiling and bright-eyed girl seemed so soulless with those bandages over her eyes. Now he understood why so many people were worried about her; it just seemed so unnatural that pain or hurt could even touch her. Now that it has...it felt like the whole world was crashing down.

He cupped both sides of her barely warm face with his hands and placed his forehead on hers. "What have they done to you Dariru...?" He could not remember what he was going to do after those words came out, for the girl's sudden screech tore through the quiet room.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" Dariru's free hand gripped a handful of Suigetsu's hair and yanked back. The boy cried out and stumbled back, bumping into the awaking Kisame. She gave a few more tugs before letting go after Suigetsu's hand clenched her wrist. The sound of the stool skidding across the floor made Suigetsu let go of the girl and back away from the bed. Kisame was facing him, the man's eyes still heavy with sleep; however after recognizing the familiar white hair and sword, his eyes went wide.

"You!" Kisame snarled before narrowing his eyes into a glare. Very slowly, Suigetsu held up his hands and took a few steps away from Dariru's bed. It was the moment the boy was a safe distance away from the girl did the blue man attack. Suigetsu ducked away from the punch and kicks that were thrown at him as Kisame's booming voice added to the buzzing in the boy's head.

"LEAVE US ALONE YOU BASTARD!"

Suigetsu's feet got tangled with one another, making him stumble back onto his butt. He did not have time to turn his body into water as Kisame's fist dropped towards his face. Thankfully, he had time to turn his back to the raging man and felt the fist collide with the hard metal of the sword. It may have been cowardly, but the last thing Suigetsu wanted was to be caught by the raging man. When he had gotten back on his feet, Suigetsu pulled out his sword and held it in front of him in a warning gesture. The shark-man huffed in annoyance before charging forward. The boy slashed out at him, but the sword only dug into the floor. He raised a confused eyebrow before looking behind him.

The boy had not been the target, but merely the shark-skin sword. Kisame gripped Samehada's handle with his only usable hand before a victorious grin spread across his furious face. Neither male moved for a long time until a strange noise reached their ears. The boy did not know how to describe the noise, but when he saw where it was coming from, he felt every fiber in his body freeze in fear. Samehada's handle began to flex, each individual scale shivering as if it had been disturbed from a sleep. Even the sword's main scales began to shift and chatter as if the blade were alive. The scales began to climb up Kisame's arm as the smile on his face became more psychotic and blood-thirsty.

A small chuckle escaped the blue man as he mumbled, "You won't escape death this time. When I'm done with you, I'll be able to live with her in peace!"

---

"So, he had acted on it, yeah?" Deidara asked, once Tadashi had finished explaining the current situation Tadashi looked up, just a little surprised about the lack of anger of the whole situation.

"Had he told you about this before?" Tadashi asked, putting a hand on Deidara's shoulder but the other man shrugged it off. Tadashi tried not to think much about it, after all what happened between them was in the past now. But the blonde boy was staring intently at the ground and ran a hand through his bang.

"When we were kids… He did mention something that startled me a little, yeah." Deidara said softly looking back slightly to glance at a bored Uchiha boy.

"He said something like he would have a will that would exceed all wills, he would live even after death. But ever since that happened he was just a conservative Tsuwa that I knew him to be, yeah." Tadashi nodded in understanding, but that truly did no help towards what was happening and Tadashi lifted his head, feeling his nerves tingle a little. Never being in the Academy long, he wasn't very good as sensing chakras. A small handicap Keisuke often took advantage of.

"I see; that's interesting information. You can come with me to see how Dariru-chan is doing. I actually found myself to like her more that I really expected to like her." Tadashi laughed. Both Deidara and Sasuke turned to stare but Tadashi ignored it, walking away and giving a pathetic wave. Sasuke looked at him suspiciously

"Did something happen between you two?" Sasuke inquired but Deidara waved him off, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Nothing; yeah." Deidara said and looked back.

"Well hurry up come on, yeah!" Deidara snapped. Sasuke rolled his eyes and followed like he was told.

---

He had no idea how Suigetsu had gotten into the base or when; the only thing he was aware of was the full-blown rage that swelled inside of him. This time, he could not hold it back. With a broken shoulder, there was no way Kisame would win a hand-to-hand fight with the younger male, who had had time to recovery from his previous injuries. But with Samehada's help, he would win.

And this time, the boy would not be able to bother them anymore.

In their rage and shock, neither Suigetsu nor Kisame noticed Dariru sitting up slowly in her bed. She could hear their ragged breathing and Kisame's furious voice. Who was it that had touched her face? The grieving voice had sounded so familiar, but after all that had happened in the past few weeks, she trusted no one else but Kisame, Ishiko and Kakuzu. And much the owner of the voice's dismay, he was neither of the three.

When there was nothing but a strange chattering noise, Dariru's curiosity perked up. Both men had gone silent, and the noise was something that she had never heard before. Was it a jutsu? Who was performing it? Her concern for the blue man forced the girl to push down the drowsiness. She ignored the pain in her arm, as something solid seemed to move within the skin and veins, when she lifted her hands to bandages over her eyes. It was risky to take the bandages off, but she had to make sure Kisame was faring well against the stranger.

Everything was blurry, like trying to looking through a window covered heavily with frost, and it was bright enough to make her squint painfully. It felt like there were weights clipped onto her eyelids as she tried to keep them open, her head moving in a frantic search for a familiar figure. Then, she saw them, their forms a blur of color. The stranger wore a purple shirt and had a massive grey weapon out in front of him. The blue figure, who she knew immediately to be Kisame, seemed hunched over as one side grew larger than the other.

The girl shook her head and blinked a few times, the blurriness still not going away. Was she seeing things correctly? Or was Kisame truly deformed? Panic went through her veins at the thought of the purple-shirted stranger causing harm to her lover. But surely it was nothing too bad. Her eyes just must have been bad.

But even that cold comfort could not stop her voice from squeaking out, "Kisame?"

At the sound of her voice, all of the rage seeped away into panic. His heart raced in fear at the sight of his transforming arm and as Samehada continued to travel across his body; preparing to become one being with its wielder. "No!" He hissed at the sword, trying his best to push the transformation away with his bad hand, "No! Stop it! Not now, please!" Of all the things he would not want her to see, it was when he truly became a monster. When the sword made him into the one thing Dariru feared the most. If she did, all hope of her ever loving him again would be lost.

Kisame glanced up and saw Dariru squinting with the bandages off. Again, his pulse quickened and the sword seemed to be resisting his attempts of stopping the transformation. Without another word, he shoved past the baffled Suigetsu, pushing the boy onto the floor, and raced out of the infirmary as fast as he could, holding his new arm close to his body in an attempt to hide it. He almost ran into Deidara, but the blonde was able to jump out of the way in time to not get trampled. There were a few concerned shouts directed at the blue man, but he ignored them. He had to hide himself until he was "normal" again.

Without even knocking, Kisame opened the closest door and slammed it shut the moment he had entered the privacy of an empty room. She had almost seen him. Good lord, she had almost seen him as a complete monster. He pressed his back against the door and slid down heavily, his breath heavy and ragged as if he had run a mile. What would have happened if she had seen him? Scream? His heart seemed to tear in two at the thought of her screaming at the sight of his monstrous form. If she ever saw him like that, would she ever love him again? Would she be able to hold him and kiss him the same as she had before she had seen?

He did not want to risk it; he couldn't risk it! If she saw him, there was no doubt in Kisame's mind that she would go straight in Suigetsu's arms. Though the thought angered him, he could not blame her. Any woman would happily leave him if they ever found out what he could really become. Then again, Dariru was not just any woman; she had fallen in love with him of all people. She had willing given herself to him multiple times and had enjoyed every second of it. Not only that, but she was always looking out for him and was always there to brighten his day. To him, she was, truly, an angel of some sort; an angel who had allowed him to taint her with his own sinful desires and his demented world in which he lived in. No matter what, Kisame just could not bring himself to taint her anymore with the sight of his last-resort form.

--

Deidara had seen the jagged and deformed arm that Kisame had cradled against his chest when the blue man sped down the hall and disappeared into a room. The blonde had no idea what had happened, but he could tell it was not any good. He exchanged a matching glance of concern with Tadashi before the two men rushed into the infirmary. At first, everything looked normal. Nothing seemed broken or shattered against a wall, such as someone's skull. However, Tadashi was the first to notice the missing bandages over Dariru's eyes, and rushed to her bedside.

"Dariru-san! What are you thinking, taking off your bandages!?" He scolded her like a parent before picking up the white cloth that rested on her bed. The girl squinted at the man as if she could hardly see him even though he was close to her. Deidara felt a small wave of depression at the sight but ignored it. If she could hardly see, then surely Sasuke was in the same condition?

As the ex-ANBU wrapped the bandages around her eyes, the girl asked, "Where's Kisame? Is he okay?" Her hands went up momentarily to take the blinds off, but Tadashi held her hands down firmly.

"He's fine," The young man lied, "and so will you! We've got Sasuke-san here, and when the good doctor fixes his eyes, yours will be too!" A small smile appeared on her face, but it turned to a frown at Sasuke's words.

"I'm connected to _you_?" The younger Uchiha scoffed, "You don't look so special to me."

Tadashi wanted nothing more than to scold at the boy and to tell him status had nothing to do with their situation, but he held his tongue. The boy may have been a brat, but if he lost his temper he could threaten the whole operation. Right now, they just needed Keirei to fix Sasuke's eyes so Dariru could get better.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, YEAH!?" Deidara hollered at Suigetsu. The blonde looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel he looked so mad. The swordsmen trainee just averted his eyes and seemed focused on the Uchiha. "YOU WERE TOLD TO STAY AWAY FROM HERE, UN! DO YOU WANT TO MAKE THINGS WORSE FOR EVERYONE, HM!?"

Suigetsu bared his pointed teeth and snapped at Deidara, "Don't blame me for Kisame's short temper! It's not my fault he can't stand other men being around Dariru!"

"Dariru-_san_," The girl interrupted coldly.

The tone of her voice made Suigetsu, Tadashi and Deidara stare at her like she had sprouted antlers. Her hands were gripping the sheets so tight her knuckles were turning white. It frightened Tadashi that the girl was capable of anger.

"W-what?" Suigetsu mumbled, knowing her statement had been directed at him.

The girl's head snapped in the direction his voice had come from and practically hollered at him viciously, "You'll only refer to me as Dariru-_san_! I'm sick and tired of you trying to make Kisame mad just so you could get me annoyed with his jealousy!"

"But, Dariru—" The boy started, but the girl kept going as if something had snapped inside of her head.

"Shut up! I have been kidnapped, tricked, practically _raped_, gone insane, almost died, and now my eyes are bleeding from their sockets! The last thing I need is someone like _you _trying to get in my pants! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE DAMN IT!" At those final words, Dariru's words shook as sobs broke out of her throat. She bent forward enough so it would not hurt her stitches. Tadashi rubbed her back comfortingly, keeping a lookout for Kisame in case the blue man decided to come back. The last thing he wanted was to be mauled by an over-protective shark-man.

Suigetsu opened his mouth to talk, but Deidara gave him a quick glare, which silenced the boy. He rolled his purple eyes before storming out of the infirmary, obviously angered at being told off by a girl. Deidara just smirked and had to suppress his giggle. Hopefully, the doctor would arrive soon.

--

Hiding his anger from his encounter with Ren was easy for Itachi. After years of hiding his true emotions, keeping them hidden from a doctor would be easy. Just as he reached for the kitchen door, it opened to reveal none other than the doctor. The older man blinked in surprise a few times before smiling formally.

"Ah, Itachi-san was it? Well, hello. Is there something you need?" The doctor did not notice the small glares Kakuzu and Ishiko were shooting the older Uchiha, but he ignored them.

"I've brought Sasuke," Itachi informed. At the mention of the boy's name, Ishiko's eyes glowed with hope. Dariru could finally be fixed.

The pregnant girl used her bulging belly as a way to force her way in front of the doctor. "Is Sasuke in good condition?" He knew the only reason she was asking was for Dariru's sake. Just like the only reason he was caring for his partner's lover's well-being was because it affected Sasuke as well. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, they were both doing this for selfish reasons.

"Sasuke is doing fine so far, aside from the eyes," Itachi admitted. Though he had not mentioned it during the travel, he could tell Sasuke was having trouble with his eyesight. The older Uchiha wanted to go to him and help him as much as possible, but he knew his little brother would just push him away. Not to mention it would put a large dent in his Uchiha pride. "But I'm sure the doctor can fix that."

Keirei gulped, a bit too noticeably, and it made Itachi show the anger he was keeping hidden. "You…_can _fix him, can't you?"

Suddenly, all eyes were on the nervous doctor. He began to fidget under all of the suspicious gazes and sweat began to drizzle from his brow. "Well…it'll be difficult bu-but I'm sure I can fix them."

Kakuzu's hand gripped the doctor's shoulder and the tall man grumbled dangerously, "Are you one-hundred percent sure you can fix their eyes?"

There was a pause as the doctor thought for a moment. He took in a deep breath before answering honestly, "I'm eighty-five percent sure I can fix their eyes. But with all that's going on, I don't know if the operation will permanently fix them." The grip on the doctor's shoulder tightened uncomfortably, making the man wince. Itachi bit the inside of his cheek in irritation as Ishiko let out a loud grumble. The pregnant girl ran a hand through her long brown hair and took deep breaths to keep calm.

This was supposed to be their answer to their problems. Now they were being told it may not work. Why couldn't Keirei have just lied to them instead of bringing their hopes down like this?

* * *

I suggest buying heathcare from Obama. Oh wait. He'd just force her to buy it. (Not happy with heathcare bill) -mumbles- Stupid rip off... feeding off our money... get a job...

Kakuzu: I concur.

Lady Malignant: I'm extremely unhappy!

Kakuzu: Well this does prove to be such an unhappy time for the insurance company as well...

Lady Malignant: Bullshit with that! Just becuase a group of people don't want to do shit gives them the right to be taken care of by the government!? This is crap! That's not fucking America anymore if people live off welfare and don't even bother to do anything! Lazy asses!

Kakuzu: Okay, okay, just get back into bed.


End file.
